Methods of increasing biomass and/or growth rate of a  plant under non-stress conditions

ABSTRACT

Provided are methods of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant by expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 908 or 71; or an exogenous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 176.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/548,373 filed on Nov. 20, 2014, which is a division of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/125,047 filed on Apr. 20, 2011, which is aNational Phase of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/IB2009/054774 havingInternational Filing Date of Oct. 28, 2009, which claims the benefit ofpriority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/187,683 filedon Jun. 17, 2009 and 61/193,141 filed on Oct. 30, 2008.

The contents of the above applications are all incorporated by referenceas if fully set forth herein in their entirety.

SEQUENCE LISTING STATEMENT

The ASCII file, entitled 70360SequenceListing.txt, created on Jun. 30,2017, comprising 2,447,740 bytes, submitted concurrently with the filingof this application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates topolypeptides, polynucleotides encoding same, transgenic plantsexpressing same and methods of producing and using same, and, moreparticularly, but not exclusively, to methods of increasing plant yield,oil yield, seed yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abioticstress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency.

Abiotic stress conditions such as salinity, drought, flood, suboptimaltemperature and toxic chemical pollution, cause substantial damage toagricultural plants. Most plants have evolved strategies to protectthemselves against these conditions. However, if the severity andduration of the stress conditions are too great, the effects on plantdevelopment, growth and yield of most crop plants are profound.Furthermore, most of the crop plants are highly susceptible to abioticstress (ABS) and thus necessitate optimal growth conditions forcommercial crop yields. Continuous exposure to stress causes majoralterations in the plant metabolism which ultimately leads to cell deathand consequently yield losses.

The global shortage of water supply is one of the most severeagricultural problems affecting plant growth and crop yield and effortsare made to mitigate the harmful effects of desertification andsalinization of the world's arable land. Thus, Agbiotech companiesattempt to create new crop varieties which are tolerant to differentabiotic stresses focusing mainly in developing new varieties that cantolerate water shortage for longer periods.

Suboptimal nutrient (macro and micro nutrient) affect plant growth anddevelopment through the whole plant life cycle. One of the essentialmacronutrients for the plant is Nitrogen. Nitrogen is responsible forbiosynthesis of amino acids and nucleic acids, prosthetic groups, planthormones, plant chemical defenses, and the like. Nitrogen is often therate-limiting element in plant growth and all field crops have afundamental dependence on inorganic nitrogenous fertilizer. Sincefertilizer is rapidly depleted from most soil types, it must be suppliedto growing crops two or three times during the growing season.Additional important macronutrients are Phosphorous (P) and Potassium(K), which have a direct correlation to yield and general planttolerance.

Vegetable or seed oils are the major source of energy and nutrition inhuman and animal diet. They are also used for the production ofindustrial products, such as paints, inks and lubricants. In addition,plant oils represent renewable sources of long-chain hydrocarbons whichcan be used as fuel. Since the currently used fossil fuels are finiteresources and are gradually being depleted, fast growing biomass cropsmay be used as alternative fuels or for energy feedstocks and may reducethe dependence on fossil energy supplies. However, the major bottleneckfor increasing consumption of plant oils as bio-fuel is the oil price,which is still higher than fossil fuel [Hypertext TransferProtocol://World Wide Web (dot) eia (dot) doe (dot)gov/oiaf/analysispaper/biodiesel/; Hypertext Transfer Protocol://WorldWide Web (dot) njbiz (dot)com/weekly article.asp?aID=19755147 (dot)6122555 (dot) 957931 (dot) 7393254 (dot) 4337383 (dot) 561&aID2=73678].In addition, the production rate of plant oil is limited by theavailability of agricultural land and water. Thus, increasing plant oilyields from the same growing area can effectively overcome the shortagein production space and can decrease vegetable oil prices at the sametime.

Studies aiming at increasing plant oil yields focus on theidentification of genes involved in oil metabolism as well as in genescapable of increasing plant and seed yields in transgenic plants.

Genes known to be involved in increasing plant oil yields include thoseparticipating in fatty acid synthesis or sequestering such as desaturase[e.g., DELTA6, DELTA12 or acyl-ACP (Ssi2; Arabidopsis InformationResource (TAIR; Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot)arabidopsis (dot) org/), TAIR No. AT2G43710)], OleosinA (TAIR No.AT3G01570) or FAD3 (TAR No. AT2G29980), and various transcriptionfactors and activators such as Led 1 [TAIR No. AT1G21970, Lotan et al.1998. Cell. 26; 93(7):1195-205], Lec2 [TAIR No. AT1G28300, SantosMendoza et al. 2005, FEBS Lett. 579(20:4666-70], Fus3 (TAIR No.AT3G26790), ABI3 [TAIR No. AT3G24650, Lara et al. 2003. J Biol Chem.278(23): 21003-11] and Wril [TAIR No. AT3G54320, Cernac and Benning,2004. Plant J. 40(4): 575-85].

Zabrouskov V., et al., 2002 (Physiol Plant. 116:172-185) describe anincrease in the total lipid fraction by upregulation of endoplasmicreticulum (FAD3) and plastidal (FAD7) fatty acid desaturases in potato.

Wang H W et al., 2007 (Plant J. 52:716-29. Epub 2007 Sep. 18) describean increase in the content of total fatty acids and lipids in plantseeds by over-expressing the GmDof4 and GmDof11 transcription factors.

Vigeolas H, et al. [Plant Biotechnol J. 2007, 5(3):431-41] and U.S. Pat.Appl. No. 20060168684 discloses an increase in seed oil content inoil-seed rape (Brassica napus L.) by over-expression of a yeastglycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase under the control of a seed-specificpromoter.

Katavic V, et al., 2000 (Biochem Soc Trans. 28:935-7) describe the useof the Arabidopsis FAE1 and yeast SLC1-1 genes for improvements inerucic acid and oil content in rapeseed.

U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20080076179 discloses an isolated moss nucleic acidencoding a lipid metabolism protein (LMP) and transgenic plantsexpressing same with increased lipid levels.

U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060206961 discloses a method of increasing oilcontent in plants (e.g., in plant seeds), by expressing in the plant theYpr140w polypeptide.

U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060174373 discloses a method of increasing oilcontent in plants by expressing a nucleic acid encoding atriacylglycerols (TAG) synthesis enhancing protein (TEP) in the plant.

U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 20070169219, 20070006345, 20070006346 and20060195943, disclose transgenic plants with improved nitrogen useefficiency which can be used for the conversion into fuel or chemicalfeedstocks.

WO2004/104162 teaches polynucleotide sequences and methods of utilizingsame for increasing the tolerance of a plant to abiotic stresses and/orincreasing the biomass of a plant.

WO2007/020638 teaches polynucleotide sequences and methods of utilizingsame for increasing the tolerance of a plant to abiotic stresses and/orincreasing the biomass, vigor and/or yield of a plant.

WO2008/122890 teaches polynucleotide sequences and methods of utilizingsame for increasing oil content, growth rate, biomass, yield and/orvigor of a plant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate,vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen useefficiency of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant anexogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least 80%identical to SEQ ID NO: 905, 882, 1-12, 15-105, 203-297, 299-523,845-881, 883-904, 906-925 or 933, thereby increasing the yield, biomass,growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/ornitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate,vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen useefficiency of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant anexogenous polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence selectedfrom the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 905, 882, 1-13, 15-105,203-523, 845-881, 883-904, 906-925 and 933, thereby increasing theyield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stresstolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate,vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen useefficiency of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant anexogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding apolypeptide at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 172, 146, 106-117,120-145, 147-171, 173-202, 524-616, 621-844, 926-931 or 932, therebyincreasing the yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abioticstress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a method of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate,vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen useefficiency of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant anexogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding apolypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 172, 146,106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202, 524-844 and 926-932, therebyincreasing the yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abioticstress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acidsequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 905, 882, 1-12, 15-105,203-297, 299-523, 845-881, 883-904, 906-925 or 933, wherein said nucleicacid sequence is capable of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate,vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen useefficiency of a plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acidsequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 905, 882,1-13, 15-105, 203-523, 845-881, 883-904, 906-925 and 933.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acidsequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises an amino acid sequenceat least 80% homologous to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202, 524-616, 621-844,926-931 or 932, wherein said amino acid sequence is capable ofincreasing yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abioticstress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acidsequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequenceselected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 172, 146, 106-117,120-145, 147-171, 173-202, 524-844 and 926-932.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a nucleic acid construct comprising the isolatedpolynucleotide of the invention, and a promoter for directingtranscription of said nucleic acid sequence in a host cell.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided an isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acidsequence at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 172, 146, 106-117,120-145, 147-171, 173-202, 524-616, 621-844, 926-931 or 932, whereinsaid amino acid sequence is capable of increasing yield, biomass, growthrate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen useefficiency of a plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided an isolated polypeptide comprising the amino acidsequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 172, 146,106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202, 524-844 and 926-932.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a plant cell exogenously expressing the polynucleotideof the invention, or the nucleic acid construct of the invention.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present inventionthere is provided a plant cell exogenously expressing the polypeptide ofthe invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acidsequence is as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 905, 882, 1-13, 15-105, 203-523,845-881, 883-904, 906-925 or 933.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polynucleotideconsists of the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consistingof SEQ ID NOs: 905, 882, 1-13, 15-105, 203-523, 845-881, 883-904,906-925 and 933.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acidsequence encodes an amino acid sequence at least 80% homologous to SEQID NO: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202, 524-616, 621-844,926-931 or 932.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acidsequence encodes the amino acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of SEQ ID NOs: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202,524-844 and 926-932.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant cell formspart of a plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method furthercomprising growing the plant expressing said exogenous polynucleotideunder the abiotic stress.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the abiotic stress isselected from the group consisting of salinity, drought, waterdeprivation, flood, etiolation, low temperature, high temperature, heavymetal toxicity, anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency, nutrient excess,atmospheric pollution and UV irradiation.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the yield comprises seedyield or oil yield.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms usedherein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used inthe practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplarymethods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, thepatent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition,the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are notintended to be necessarily limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specificreference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that theparticulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrativediscussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, thedescription taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled inthe art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the pGI binary plasmid used forexpressing the isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments ofthe invention. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; H—HindIIIrestriction enzyme; X—XbaI restriction enzyme; B—BamHI restrictionenzyme; S—SalI restriction enzyme; Sm—SmaI restriction enzyme; R-I—EcoRIrestriction enzyme; Sc—SacI/SstI/Ecl136II; (numbers)—Length inbase-pairs; NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycinphosphotransferase gene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; Poly-Asignal (polyadenylation signal); GUSintron—the GUS reporter gene (codingsequence and intron) The isolated polynucleotide sequences of theinvention were cloned into the vector while replacing the GUSintronreporter gene

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the modified pGI binary plasmidused for expressing the isolated polynucleotide sequences of theinvention. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; MCS—Multiplecloning site; RE—any restriction enzyme; (numbers)—Length in base-pairs;NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycin phosphotransferasegene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; Poly-A signal(polyadenylation signal); GUSintron—the GUS reporter gene (codingsequence and intron) The isolated polynucleotide sequences of theinvention were cloned into the vector while replacing the GUSintronreporter gene.

FIGS. 3A-3F are images depicting visualization of root development oftransgenic plants exogenously expressing the polynucleotide of someembodiments of the invention when grown in transparent agar plates undernormal (FIGS. 3A-3B), osmotic stress (15% PEG; FIGS. 3C-3D) ornitrogen-limiting (FIGS. 3E-3F) conditions. The different transgeneswere grown in transparent agar plates for 17 days (7 days nursery and 10days after transplanting). The plates were photographed every 3-4 daysstarting at day 1 after transplanting. FIG. 3A—An image of a photographof plants taken following 10 after transplanting days on agar plateswhen grown under normal (standard) conditions. FIG. 3B—An image of rootanalysis of the plants shown in FIG. 3A in which the lengths of theroots measured are represented by arrows. FIG. 3C—An image of aphotograph of plants taken following 10 days after transplanting on agarplates, grown under high osmotic (PEG 15%) conditions. FIG. 3D—An imageof root analysis of the plants shown in FIG. 3C in which the lengths ofthe roots measured are represented by arrows. FIG. 3E—An image of aphotograph of plants taken following 10 days after transplanting on agarplates, grown under low nitrogen conditions. FIG. 3F—An image of rootanalysis of the plants shown in FIG. 3E in which the lengths of theroots measured are represented by arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates topolypeptides, polynucleotides encoding same, nucleic acid constructscomprising same, transgenic plants expressing same and methods ofproducing and using same for increasing plant yield, oil yield, seedyield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stresstolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, itis to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in itsapplication to the details set forth in the following description orexemplified by the Examples. The invention is capable of otherembodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways.

While reducing the present invention to practice, the present inventorshave identified novel polypeptides and polynucleotides which can be usedto increase yield, growth rate, biomass, oil content, vigor, abioticstress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant.

Thus, as shown in the Examples section which follows, the presentinventors have utilized bioinformatics tools and microarray analyses toidentify polynucleotides which enhance yield (e.g., seed yield, oilyield, oil content), growth rate, biomass, vigor, abiotic stresstolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant. Genes which affectthe trait-of-interest [Table 15; Example 5 of the Examples section whichfollows; SEQ ID NOs:1-105 (polynucleotides) and SEQ ID NOs:106-202(polypeptides)] were identified based on correlation analyses betweenexpression profiles of various genes in tissues, developmental stages,fertilizer limiting conditions, abiotic stress conditions or normalconditions across several Arabidopsis ecotypes, Sorghum Accessions andTomato accessions and various parameters of yield, biomass, vigor,growth rate and/or oil content (Examples 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 and 11 of theExamples section which follows; Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11, 12, 13, 14, 28 and 29). Homologous polypeptides and polynucleotideshaving the same function (activity) were also identified [Table 16,Example 6 of the Examples section which follows; SEQ ID NOs:203-523(polynucleotides), and SEQ ID NOs:524-844 (polypeptides)]. Theidentified genes were cloned in binary vectors (see for example, Tables17, 18, 19 and 20; Example 7 of the Examples section which follows; SEQID NOs:47, 845-925 and 933) and transgenic plants over-expressing theidentified genes of the invention were generated (see for example,Example 8 of the Examples section which follows). These plants which aretransformed with the identified polynucleotides were found to exhibitincreased yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, seed yield, oil content,oil yield, flowering, harvest index and rosette area (Tables 21-27;Example 9 of the Examples section which follows). These results suggestthe use of the novel polynucleotides and polypeptides of the inventionfor increasing yield (including oil yield, seed yield and oil content),growth rate, biomass, vigor, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogenuse efficiency of a plant.

Thus, according to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, thereis provided method of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oilcontent, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of aplant. The method is effected by expressing within the plant anexogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least 80%identical to SEQ ID NO: 905, 882, 1-12, 15-105, 203-297, 299-523,845-881, 883-904, 906-925, or 933, thereby increasing the yield,biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress toleranceand/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

As used herein the phrase “plant yield” refers to the amount (asdetermined by weight or size) or quantity (numbers) of tissues or organsproduced per plant or per growing season. Hence increased yield couldaffect the economic benefit one can obtain from the plant in a certaingrowing area and/or growing time.

It should be noted that a plant yield can be affected by variousparameters including, but not limited to, plant biomass; plant vigor;growth rate; seed yield; seed or grain quantity; seed or grain quality;oil yield; content of oil, starch and/or protein in harvested organs(e.g., seeds or vegetative parts of the plant); number of flowers(florets) per panicle (expressed as a ratio of number of filled seedsover number of primary panicles); harvest index; number of plants grownper area; number and size of harvested organs per plant and per area;number of plants per growing area (density); number of harvested organsin field; total leaf area; carbon assimilation and carbon partitioning(the distribution/allocation of carbon within the plant); resistance toshade; number of harvestable organs (e.g. seeds), seeds per pod, weightper seed; and modified architecture [such as increase stalk diameter,thickness or improvement of physical properties (e.g. elasticity)].

As used herein the phrase “seed yield” refers to the number or weight ofthe seeds per plant, seeds per pod, or per growing area or to the weightof a single seed, or to the oil extracted per seed. Hence seed yield canbe affected by seed dimensions (e.g., length, width, perimeter, areaand/or volume), number of (filled) seeds and seed filling rate and byseed oil content. Hence increase seed yield per plant could affect theeconomic benefit one can obtain from the plant in a certain growing areaand/or growing time; and increase seed yield per growing area could beachieved by increasing seed yield per plant, and/or by increasing numberof plants grown on the same given area.

The term “seed” (also referred to as “grain” or “kernel”) as used hereinrefers to a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seedcoat (usually with some stored food), the product of the ripened ovuleof gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization andsome growth within the mother plant.

The phrase “oil content” as used herein refers to the amount of lipidsin a given plant organ, either the seeds (seed oil content) or thevegetative portion of the plant (vegetative oil content) and istypically expressed as percentage of dry weight (10% humidity of seeds)or wet weight (for vegetative portion).

It should be noted that oil content is affected by intrinsic oilproduction of a tissue (e.g., seed, vegetative portion), as well as themass or size of the oil-producing tissue per plant or per growth period.

In one embodiment, increase in oil content of the plant can be achievedby increasing the size/mass of a plant's tissue(s) which comprise oilper growth period. Thus, increased oil content of a plant can beachieved by increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass and vigor of theplant.

As used herein the phrase “plant biomass” refers to the amount (e.g.,measured in grams of air-dry tissue) of a tissue produced from the plantin a growing season, which could also determine or affect the plantyield or the yield per growing area. An increase in plant biomass can bein the whole plant or in parts thereof such as aboveground (harvestable)parts, vegetative biomass, roots and seeds.

As used herein the phrase “growth rate” refers to the increase in plantorgan/tissue size per time (can be measured in cm² per day).

As used herein the phrase “plant vigor” refers to the amount (measuredby weight) of tissue produced by the plant in a given time. Henceincreased vigor could determine or affect the plant yield or the yieldper growing time or growing area. In addition, early vigor (seed and/orseedling) results in improved field stand.

It should be noted that a plant yield can be determined under stress(e.g., abiotic stress, nitrogen-limiting conditions) and/or non-stress(normal) conditions.

As used herein, the phrase “non-stress conditions” refers to the growthconditions (e.g., water, temperature, light-dark cycles, humidity, saltconcentration, fertilizer concentration in soil, nutrient supply such asnitrogen, phosphorous and/or potassium), that do not significantly gobeyond the everyday climatic and other abiotic conditions that plantsmay encounter, and which allow optimal growth, metabolism, reproductionand/or viability of a plant at any stage in its life cycle (e.g., in acrop plant from seed to a mature plant and back to seed again). Personsskilled in the art are aware of normal soil conditions and climaticconditions for a given plant in a given geographic location. It shouldbe noted that while the non-stress conditions may include some mildvariations from the optimal conditions (which vary from one type/speciesof a plant to another), such variations do not cause the plant to ceasegrowing without the capacity to resume growth.

The phrase “abiotic stress” as used herein refers to any adverse effecton metabolism, growth, reproduction and/or viability of a plant.Accordingly, abiotic stress can be induced by suboptimal environmentalgrowth conditions such as, for example, salinity, water deprivation,flooding, freezing, low or high temperature, heavy metal toxicity,anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency, atmospheric pollution or UVirradiation. The implications of abiotic stress are discussed in theBackground section.

The phrase “abiotic stress tolerance” as used herein refers to theability of a plant to endure an abiotic stress without suffering asubstantial alteration in metabolism, growth, productivity and/orviability.

As used herein the phrase “water use efficiency (WUE)” refers to thelevel of organic matter produced per unit of water consumed by theplant, i.e., the dry weight of a plant in relation to the plant's wateruse, e.g., the biomass produced per unit transpiration.

As used herein the phrase “fertilizer use efficiency” refers to themetabolic process(es) which lead to an increase in the plant's yield,biomass, vigor, and growth rate per fertilizer unit applied. Themetabolic process can be the uptake, spread, absorbent, accumulation,relocation (within the plant) and use of one or more of the minerals andorganic moieties absorbed by the plant, such as nitrogen, phosphatesand/or potassium.

As used herein the phrase “fertilizer-limiting conditions” refers togrowth conditions which include a level (e.g., concentration) of afertilizer applied which is below the level needed for normal plantmetabolism, growth, reproduction and/or viability.

As used herein the phrase “nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)” refers to themetabolic process(es) which lead to an increase in the plant's yield,biomass, vigor, and growth rate per nitrogen unit applied. The metabolicprocess can be the uptake, spread, absorbent, accumulation, relocation(within the plant) and use of nitrogen absorbed by the plant.

As used herein the phrase “nitrogen-limiting conditions” refers togrowth conditions which include a level (e.g., concentration) ofnitrogen (e.g., ammonium or nitrate) applied which is below the levelneeded for normal plant metabolism, growth, reproduction and/orviability.

Improved plant NUE and FUE is translated in the field into eitherharvesting similar quantities of yield, while implementing lessfertilizers, or increased yields gained by implementing the same levelsof fertilizers. Thus, improved NUE or FUE has a direct effect on plantyield in the field. Thus, the polynucleotides and polypeptides of someembodiments of the invention positively affect plant yield, seed yield,and plant biomass. In addition, the benefit of improved plant NUE willcertainly improve crop quality and biochemical constituents of the seedsuch as protein yield and oil yield.

As used herein the term “increasing” refers to at least about 2%, atleast about 3%, at least about 4%, at least about 5%, at least about10%, at least about 15%, at least about 20%, at least about 30%, atleast about 40%, at least about 50%, at least about 60%, at least about70%, at least about 80%, increase in yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor,oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency ofa plant as compared to a native plant [i.e., a plant not modified withthe biomolecules (polynucleotide or polypeptides) of the invention,e.g., a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown underthe same growth conditions].

The phrase “expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide” asused herein refers to upregulating the expression level of an exogenouspolynucleotide within the plant by introducing the exogenouspolynucleotide into a plant cell or plant and expressing by recombinantmeans, as further described herein below.

As used herein “expressing” refers to expression at the mRNA andoptionally polypeptide level.

As used herein, the phrase “exogenous polynucleotide” refers to aheterologous nucleic acid sequence which may not be naturally expressedwithin the plant or which overexpression in the plant is desired. Theexogenous polynucleotide may be introduced into the plant in a stable ortransient manner, so as to produce a ribonucleic acid (RNA) moleculeand/or a polypeptide molecule. It should be noted that the exogenouspolynucleotide may comprise a nucleic acid sequence which is identicalor partially homologous to an endogenous nucleic acid sequence of theplant.

The term “endogenous” as used herein refers to any polynucleotide orpolypeptide which is present and/or naturally expressed within a plantor a cell thereof.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenouspolynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid sequence which is at least about80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, atleast about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, atleast about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, atleast about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100%identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of SEQ ID NOs: 905, 882, 1-12, 15-105, 203-297, 299-523,845-881, 883-904, 906-925 and 933.

Identity (e.g., percent homology) can be determined using any homologycomparison software, including for example, the BlastN software of theNational Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) such as by usingdefault parameters.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenouspolynucleotide is at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, atleast about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, atleast about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, atleast about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polynucleotide selectedfrom the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 905, 882, 1-12, 15-105,203-297, 299-523, 845-881, 883-904, 906-925 and 933.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenouspolynucleotide is set forth by SEQ ID NO: 905, 882, 1-12, 15-105,203-297, 299-523, 845-881, 883-904, 906-925 or 933.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there isprovided a method of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oilcontent, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of aplant. The method is effected by expressing within the plant anexogenous polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence selectedfrom the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 905, 882, 1-13, 15-105,203-523, 845-881, 883-904, 906-925 and 933, thereby increasing theyield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stresstolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenouspolynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 905,882, 1-13, 15-105, 203-523, 845-881, 883-904, 906-925 and 933.

As used herein the term “polynucleotide” refers to a single or doublestranded nucleic acid sequence which is isolated and provided in theform of an RNA sequence, a complementary polynucleotide sequence (cDNA),a genomic polynucleotide sequence and/or a composite polynucleotidesequences (e.g., a combination of the above).

The term “isolated” refers to at least partially separated from thenatural environment e.g., from a plant cell.

As used herein the phrase “complementary polynucleotide sequence” refersto a sequence, which results from reverse transcription of messenger RNAusing a reverse transcriptase or any other RNA dependent DNA polymerase.Such a sequence can be subsequently amplified in vivo or in vitro usinga DNA dependent DNA polymerase.

As used herein the phrase “genomic polynucleotide sequence” refers to asequence derived (isolated) from a chromosome and thus it represents acontiguous portion of a chromosome.

As used herein the phrase “composite polynucleotide sequence” refers toa sequence, which is at least partially complementary and at leastpartially genomic. A composite sequence can include some exonalsequences required to encode the polypeptide of the present invention,as well as some intronic sequences interposing therebetween. Theintronic sequences can be of any source, including of other genes, andtypically will include conserved splicing signal sequences. Suchintronic sequences may further include cis acting expression regulatoryelements.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenouspolynucleotide of the invention encodes a polypeptide having an aminoacid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, atleast about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, atleast about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or moresay 100% homologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of SEQ ID NOs: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202,524-616, 621-844, 926-931 and 932.

Homology (e.g., percent homology) can be determined using any homologycomparison software, including for example, the BlastP or TBLASTNsoftware of the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) suchas by using default parameters, when starting from a polypeptidesequence; or the tBLASTX algorithm (available via the NCBI) such as byusing default parameters, which compares the six-frame conceptualtranslation products of a nucleotide query sequence (both strands)against a protein sequence database.

Homologous sequences include both orthologous and paralogous sequences.The term “paralogous” relates to gene-duplications within the genome ofa species leading to paralogous genes. The term “orthologous” relates tohomologous genes in different organisms due to ancestral relationship.

One option to identify orthologues in monocot plant species is byperforming a reciprocal blast search. This may be done by a first blastinvolving blasting the sequence-of-interest against any sequencedatabase, such as the publicly available NCBI database which may befound at: Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) ncbi (dot)nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov. If orthologues in rice were sought, thesequence-of-interest would be blasted against, for example, the 28,469full-length cDNA clones from Oryza sativa Nipponbare available at NCBI.The blast results may be filtered. The full-length sequences of eitherthe filtered results or the non-filtered results are then blasted back(second blast) against the sequences of the organism from which thesequence-of-interest is derived. The results of the first and secondblasts are then compared. An orthologue is identified when the sequenceresulting in the highest score (best hit) in the first blast identifiesin the second blast the query sequence (the originalsequence-of-interest) as the best hit. Using the same rational aparalogue (homolog to a gene in the same organism) is found. In case oflarge sequence families, the ClustalW program may be used [HypertextTransfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) ebi (dot) ac (dot)uk/Tools/clustalw2/index (dot) html], followed by a neighbor-joiningtree (Hypertext Transfer Protocol://en (dot) wikipedia (dot)org/wiki/Neighbor-joining) which helps visualizing the clustering.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenouspolynucleotide encodes a polypeptide consisting of the amino acidsequence set forth by SEQ ID NO: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171,173-202, 524-616, 621-844, 926-931 or 932.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, the methodof increasing yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abioticstress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant is effectedby expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprisingthe nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide selected from the groupconsisting of SEQ ID NOs: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202,524-844 and 926-932, thereby increasing the yield, biomass, growth rate,vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen useefficiency of the plant.

Nucleic acid sequences encoding the polypeptides of the presentinvention may be optimized for expression. Examples of such sequencemodifications include, but are not limited to, an altered G/C content tomore closely approach that typically found in the plant species ofinterest, and the removal of codons atypically found in the plantspecies commonly referred to as codon optimization.

The phrase “codon optimization” refers to the selection of appropriateDNA nucleotides for use within a structural gene or fragment thereofthat approaches codon usage within the plant of interest. Therefore, anoptimized gene or nucleic acid sequence refers to a gene in which thenucleotide sequence of a native or naturally occurring gene has beenmodified in order to utilize statistically-preferred orstatistically-favored codons within the plant. The nucleotide sequencetypically is examined at the DNA level and the coding region optimizedfor expression in the plant species determined using any suitableprocedure, for example as described in Sardana et al. (1996, Plant CellReports 15:677-681). In this method, the standard deviation of codonusage, a measure of codon usage bias, may be calculated by first findingthe squared proportional deviation of usage of each codon of the nativegene relative to that of highly expressed plant genes, followed by acalculation of the average squared deviation. The formula used is: 1SDCU=n=1 N [(Xn−Yn)/Yn]2/N, where Xn refers to the frequency of usage ofcodon n in highly expressed plant genes, where Yn to the frequency ofusage of codon n in the gene of interest and N refers to the totalnumber of codons in the gene of interest. A Table of codon usage fromhighly expressed genes of dicotyledonous plants is compiled using thedata of Murray et al. (1989, Nuc Acids Res. 17:477-498).

One method of optimizing the nucleic acid sequence in accordance withthe preferred codon usage for a particular plant cell type is based onthe direct use, without performing any extra statistical calculations,of codon optimization Tables such as those provided on-line at the CodonUsage Database through the NIAS (National Institute of AgrobiologicalSciences) DNA bank in Japan (Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World WideWeb (dot) kazusa (dot) or (dot) jp/codon/). The Codon Usage Databasecontains codon usage tables for a number of different species, with eachcodon usage Table having been statistically determined based on the datapresent in Genbank.

By using the above Tables to determine the most preferred or mostfavored codons for each amino acid in a particular species (for example,rice), a naturally-occurring nucleotide sequence encoding a protein ofinterest can be codon optimized for that particular plant species. Thisis effected by replacing codons that may have a low statisticalincidence in the particular species genome with corresponding codons, inregard to an amino acid, that are statistically more favored. However,one or more less-favored codons may be selected to delete existingrestriction sites, to create new ones at potentially useful junctions(5′ and 3′ ends to add signal peptide or termination cassettes, internalsites that might be used to cut and splice segments together to producea correct full-length sequence), or to eliminate nucleotide sequencesthat may negatively effect mRNA stability or expression.

The naturally-occurring encoding nucleotide sequence may already, inadvance of any modification, contain a number of codons that correspondto a statistically-favored codon in a particular plant species.Therefore, codon optimization of the native nucleotide sequence maycomprise determining which codons, within the native nucleotidesequence, are not statistically-favored with regards to a particularplant, and modifying these codons in accordance with a codon usage tableof the particular plant to produce a codon optimized derivative. Amodified nucleotide sequence may be fully or partially optimized forplant codon usage provided that the protein encoded by the modifiednucleotide sequence is produced at a level higher than the proteinencoded by the corresponding naturally occurring or native gene.Construction of synthetic genes by altering the codon usage is describedin for example PCT Patent Application 93/07278.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenouspolynucleotide is a non-coding RNA.

As used herein the phrase ‘non-coding RNA” refers to an RNA moleculewhich does not encode an amino acid sequence (a polypeptide). Examplesof such non-coding RNA molecules include, but are not limited to, anantisense RNA, a pre-miRNA (precursor of a microRNA), or a precursor ofa Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA).

A non-limiting example of a non-coding RNA polynucleotide is provided inSEQ ID NO:72 (BDL90).

Thus, the invention encompasses nucleic acid sequences describedhereinabove; fragments thereof, sequences hybridizable therewith,sequences homologous thereto, sequences encoding similar polypeptideswith different codon usage, altered sequences characterized bymutations, such as deletion, insertion or substitution of one or morenucleotides, either naturally occurring or man induced, either randomlyor in a targeted fashion.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleicacid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, atleast about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, atleast about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, atleast about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polynucleotide selectedfrom the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 905, 882, 1-12, 15-105,203-297, 299-523, 845-881, 883-904, 906-925 and 933.

According to some embodiments of the invention the nucleic acid sequenceis capable of increasing yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oilcontent, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of aplant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the isolatedpolynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence selected from thegroup consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 905, 882, 1-13, 15-105, 203-523,845-881, 883-904, 906-925 and 933.

According to some embodiments of the invention the isolatedpolynucleotide is set forth by SEQ ID NO: 905, 882, 1-13, 15-105,203-523, 845-881, 883-904, 906-925 or 933.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleicacid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises an amino acidsequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, atleast about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, atleast about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, atleast about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about99%, or more say 100% homologous to the amino acid sequence selectedfrom the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145,147-171, 173-202, 524-616, 621-844, 926-931 and 932.

According to some embodiments of the invention the amino acid sequenceis capable of increasing yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oilcontent, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of aplant.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleicacid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises the amino acidsequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 172, 146,106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202, 524-844 and 926-932.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleicacid sequence encoding a polypeptide selected from the group consistingof SEQ ID NOs: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202, 524-844 and926-932.

The invention provides an isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acidsequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, atleast about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, atleast about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, atleast about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about99%, or more say 100% homologous to an amino acid sequence selected fromthe group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171,173-202, 524-616, 621-844, 926-931 and 932.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polypeptidecomprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting ofSEQ ID NOs: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202, 524-844 and926-932.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polypeptide is setforth by SEQ ID NO: 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-202,524-844, 926-931 or 932.

The invention also encompasses fragments of the above describedpolypeptides and polypeptides having mutations, such as deletions,insertions or substitutions of one or more amino acids, either naturallyoccurring or man induced, either randomly or in a targeted fashion.

The term “plant” as used herein encompasses whole plants, ancestors andprogeny of the plants and plant parts, including seeds, shoots, stems,roots (including tubers), and plant cells, tissues and organs. The plantmay be in any form including suspension cultures, embryos, meristematicregions, callus tissue, leaves, gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen, andmicrospores. Plants that are particularly useful in the methods of theinvention include all plants which belong to the superfamilyViridiplantae, in particular monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plantsincluding a fodder or forage legume, ornamental plant, food crop, tree,or shrub selected from the list comprising Acacia spp., Acer spp.,Actinidia spp., Aesculus spp., Agathis australis, Albizia amara,Alsophila tricolor, Andropogon spp., Arachis spp, Areca catechu, Asteliafragrans, Astragalus cicer, Baikiaea plurijuga, Betula spp., Brassicaspp., Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Burkea africana, Butea frondosa, Cadabafarinosa, Calliandra spp, Camellia sinensis, Canna indica, Capsicumspp., Cassia spp., Centroema pubescens, Chacoomeles spp., Cinnamomumcassia, Coffea arabica, Colophospermum mopane, Coronillia varia,Cotoneaster serotina, Crataegus spp., Cucumis spp., Cupressus spp.,Cyathea dealbata, Cydonia oblonga, Cryptomeria japonica, Cymbopogonspp., Cynthea dealbata, Cydonia oblonga, Dalbergia monetaria, Davalliadivaricata, Desmodium spp., Dicksonia squarosa, Dibeteropogonamplectens, Dioclea spp, Dolichos spp., Dorycnium rectum, Echinochloapyramidalis, Ehraffia spp., Eleusine coracana, Eragrestis spp.,Erythrina spp., Eucalypfus spp., Euclea schimperi, Eulalia vi/losa,Pagopyrum spp., Feijoa sellowlana, Fragaria spp., Flemingia spp,Freycinetia banksli, Geranium thunbergii, GinAgo biloba, Glycinejavanica, Gliricidia spp, Gossypium hirsutum, Grevillea spp., Guibourtiacoleosperma, Hedysarum spp., Hemaffhia altissima, Heteropogon contoffus,Hordeum vulgare, Hyparrhenia rufa, Hypericum erectum, Hypeffheliadissolute, Indigo incamata, Iris spp., Leptarrhena pyrolifolia,Lespediza spp., Lettuca spp., Leucaena leucocephala, Loudetia simplex,Lotonus bainesli, Lotus spp., Macrotyloma axillare, Malus spp., Manihotesculenta, Medicago saliva, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Musasapientum, Nicotianum spp., Onobrychis spp., Ornithopus spp., Oryzaspp., Peltophorum africanum, Pennisetum spp., Persea gratissima, Petuniaspp., Phaseolus spp., Phoenix canariensis, Phormium cookianum, Photiniaspp., Picea glauca, Pinus spp., Pisum sativam, Podocarpus totara,Pogonarthria fleckii, Pogonaffhria squarrosa, Populus spp., Prosopiscineraria, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pterolobium stellatum, Pyrus communis,Quercus spp., Rhaphiolepsis umbellata, Rhopalostylis sapida, Rhusnatalensis, Ribes grossularia, Ribes spp., Robinia pseudoacacia, Rosaspp., Rubus spp., Salix spp., Schyzachyrium sanguineum, Sciadopitysvefficillata, Sequoia sempervirens, Sequoiadendron giganteum, Sorghumbicolor, Spinacia spp., Sporobolus fimbriatus, Stiburus alopecuroides,Stylosanthos humilis, Tadehagi spp, Taxodium distichum, Themedatriandra, Trifolium spp., Triticum spp., Tsuga heterophylla, Vacciniumspp., Vicia spp., Vitis vinifera, Watsonia pyramidata, Zantedeschiaaethiopica, Zea mays, amaranth, artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, Brusselssprouts, cabbage, canola, carrot, cauliflower, celery, collard greens,flax, kale, lentil, oilseed rape, okra, onion, potato, rice, soybean,straw, sugar beet, sugar cane, sunflower, tomato, squash tea, maize,wheat, barely, rye, oat, peanut, pea, lentil and alfalfa, cotton,rapeseed, canola, pepper, sunflower, tobacco, eggplant, eucalyptus, atree, an ornamental plant, a perennial grass and a forage crop.Alternatively algae and other non-Viridiplantae can be used for themethods of the present invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant used by themethod of the invention is a crop plant such as rice, maize, wheat,barley, peanut, potato, sesame, olive tree, palm oil, banana, soybean,sunflower, canola, sugarcane, alfalfa, millet, leguminosae (bean, pea),flax, lupinus, rapeseed, tobacco, poplar and cotton.

According to some embodiments of the invention, there is provided aplant cell exogenously expressing the polynucleotide of some embodimentsof the invention, the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of theinvention and/or the polypeptide of some embodiments of the invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, expressing the exogenouspolynucleotide of the invention within the plant is effected bytransforming one or more cells of the plant with the exogenouspolynucleotide, followed by generating a mature plant from thetransformed cells and cultivating the mature plant under conditionssuitable for expressing the exogenous polynucleotide within the matureplant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the transformation iseffected by introducing to the plant cell a nucleic acid construct whichincludes the exogenous polynucleotide of some embodiments of theinvention and at least one promoter for directing transcription of theexogenous polynucleotide in a host cell (a plant cell). Further detailsof suitable transformation approaches are provided hereinbelow.

According to some embodiments of the invention, there is provided anucleic acid construct comprising the isolated polynucleotide of theinvention, and a promoter for directing transcription of the nucleicacid sequence of the isolated polynucleotide in a host cell.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the isolatedpolynucleotide is operably linked to the promoter sequence.

A coding nucleic acid sequence is “operably linked” to a regulatorysequence (e.g., promoter) if the regulatory sequence is capable ofexerting a regulatory effect on the coding sequence linked thereto.

As used herein, the term “promoter” refers to a region of DNA which liesupstream of the transcriptional initiation site of a gene to which RNApolymerase binds to initiate transcription of RNA. The promoter controlswhere (e.g., which portion of a plant) and/or when (e.g., at which stageor condition in the lifetime of an organism) the gene is expressed.

Any suitable promoter sequence can be used by the nucleic acid constructof the present invention. Preferably the promoter is a constitutivepromoter, a tissue-specific, or an abiotic stress-inducible promoter.

Suitable constitutive promoters include, for example, CaMV 35S promoter(SEQ ID NO:1184; Odell et al., Nature 313:810-812, 1985); ArabidopsisAt6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO:1183; see PCT Publication No. WO04081173A2);maize Ubi 1 (Christensen et al., Plant Sol. Biol. 18:675-689, 1992);rice actin (McElroy et al., Plant Cell 2:163-171, 1990); pEMU (Last etal., Theor. Appl. Genet. 81:581-588, 1991); CaMV 19S (Nilsson et al.,Physiol. Plant 100:456-462, 1997); GOS2 (de Pater et al, Plant JNovember; 2(6):837-44, 1992); ubiquitin (Christensen et al, Plant Mol.Biol. 18: 675-689, 1992); Rice cyclophilin (Bucholz et al, Plant MolBiol. 25(5):837-43, 1994); Maize H3 histone (Lepetit et al, Mol. Gen.Genet. 231: 276-285, 1992); Actin 2 (An et al, Plant J. 10(1); 107-121,1996) and Synthetic Super MAS (Ni et al., The Plant Journal 7: 661-76,1995). Other constitutive promoters include those in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,659,026, 5,608,149; 5,608,144; 5,604,121; 5,569,597: 5,466,785;5,399,680; 5,268,463; and 5,608,142.

Suitable tissue-specific promoters include, but not limited to,leaf-specific promoters [such as described, for example, by Yamamoto etal., Plant J. 12:255-265, 1997; Kwon et al., Plant Physiol. 105:357-67,1994; Yamamoto et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 35:773-778, 1994; Gotor etal., Plant J. 3:509-18, 1993; Orozco et al., Plant Mol. Biol.23:1129-1138, 1993; and Matsuoka et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA90:9586-9590, 1993], seed-preferred promoters [e.g., from seed specificgenes (Simon, et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 5. 191, 1985; Scofield, et al.,J. Biol. Chem. 262: 12202, 1987; Baszczynski, et al., Plant Mol. Biol.14: 633, 1990), Brazil Nut albumin (Pearson’ et al., Plant Mol. Biol.18: 235-245, 1992), legumin (Ellis, et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 10: 203-214,1988), Glutelin (rice) (Takaiwa, et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 208: 15-22,1986; Takaiwa, et al., FEBS Letts. 221: 43-47, 1987), Zein (Matzke et alPlant Mol Biol, 143).323-32 1990), napA (Stalberg, et al, Planta 199:515-519, 1996), Wheat SPA (Albanietal, Plant Cell, 9: 171-184, 1997),sunflower oleosin (Cummins, et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 19: 873-876,1992)], endosperm specific promoters [e.g., wheat LMW and HMW,glutenin-1 (Mol Gen Genet 216:81-90, 1989; NAR 17:461-2), wheat a, b andg gliadins (EMBO3:1409-15, 1984), Barley ltrl promoter, barley B1, C, Dhordein (Theor Appl Gen 98:1253-62, 1999; Plant J 4:343-55, 1993; MolGen Genet 250:750-60, 1996), Barley DOF (Mena et al, The Plant Journal,116(1): 53-62, 1998), Biz2 (EP99106056.7), Synthetic promoter(Vicente-Carbajosa et al., Plant J. 13: 629-640, 1998), rice prolaminNRP33, rice-globulin Glb-1 (Wu et al, Plant Cell Physiology 39(8)885-889, 1998), rice alpha-globulin REB/OHP-1 (Nakase et al. Plant Mol.Biol. 33: 513-S22, 1997), rice ADP-glucose PP (Trans Res 6:157-68,1997), maize ESR gene family (Plant J 12:235-46, 1997), sorgumgamma-kafirin (PMB 32:1029-35, 1996)], embryo specific promoters [e.g.,rice OSH1 (Sato et al, Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA, 93: 8117-8122), KNOX(Postma-Haarsma of al, Plant Mol. Biol. 39:257-71, 1999), rice oleosin(Wu et at, J. Biochem., 123:386, 1998)], and flower-specific promoters[e.g., AtPRP4, chalene synthase (chsA) (Van der Meer, et al., Plant Mol.Biol. 15, 95-109, 1990), LAT52 (Twell et al Mol. Gen Genet. 217:240-245;1989), apetala-3].

Suitable abiotic stress-inducible promoters include, but not limited to,salt-inducible promoters such as RD29A (Yamaguchi-Shinozalei et al.,Mol. Gen. Genet. 236:331-340, 1993); drought-inducible promoters such asmaize rab17 gene promoter (Pla et. al., Plant Mol. Biol. 21:259-266,1993), maize rab28 gene promoter (Busk et. al., Plant J. 11:1285-1295,1997) and maize Ivr2 gene promoter (Pelleschi et. al., Plant Mol. Biol.39:373-380, 1999); heat-inducible promoters such as heat tomatohsp80-promoter from tomato (U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,267).

The nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention canfurther include an appropriate selectable marker and/or an origin ofreplication. According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleicacid construct utilized is a shuttle vector, which can propagate both inE. coli (wherein the construct comprises an appropriate selectablemarker and origin of replication) and be compatible with propagation incells. The construct according to the present invention can be, forexample, a plasmid, a bacmid, a phagemid, a cosmid, a phage, a virus oran artificial chromosome.

The nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention can beutilized to stably or transiently transform plant cells. In stabletransformation, the exogenous polynucleotide is integrated into theplant genome and as such it represents a stable and inherited trait. Intransient transformation, the exogenous polynucleotide is expressed bythe cell transformed but it is not integrated into the genome and assuch it represents a transient trait.

There are various methods of introducing foreign genes into bothmonocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants (Potrykus, I., Annu. Rev.Plant. Physiol., Plant. Mol. Biol. (1991) 42:205-225; Shimamoto et al.,Nature (1989) 338:274-276).

The principle methods of causing stable integration of exogenous DNAinto plant genomic DNA include two main approaches:

(i) Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer: Klee et al. (1987) Annu. Rev.Plant Physiol. 38:467-486; Klee and Rogers in Cell Culture and SomaticCell Genetics of Plants, Vol. 6, Molecular Biology of Plant NuclearGenes, eds. Schell, J., and Vasil, L. K., Academic Publishers, SanDiego, Calif. (1989) p. 2-25; Gatenby, in Plant Biotechnology, eds.Kung, S. and Arntzen, C. J., Butterworth Publishers, Boston, Mass.(1989) p. 93-112.

(ii) Direct DNA uptake: Paszkowski et al., in Cell Culture and SomaticCell Genetics of Plants, Vol. 6, Molecular Biology of Plant NuclearGenes eds. Schell, J., and Vasil, L. K., Academic Publishers, San Diego,Calif. (1989) p. 52-68; including methods for direct uptake of DNA intoprotoplasts, Toriyama, K. et al. (1988) Bio/Technology 6:1072-1074. DNAuptake induced by brief electric shock of plant cells: Zhang et al.Plant Cell Rep. (1988) 7:379-384. Fromm et al. Nature (1986)319:791-793. DNA injection into plant cells or tissues by particlebombardment, Klein et al. Bio/Technology (1988) 6:559-563; McCabe et al.Bio/Technology (1988) 6:923-926; Sanford, Physiol. Plant. (1990)79:206-209; by the use of micropipette systems: Neuhaus et al., Theor.Appl. Genet. (1987) 75:30-36; Neuhaus and Spangenberg, Physiol. Plant.(1990) 79:213-217; glass fibers or silicon carbide whiskertransformation of cell cultures, embryos or callus tissue, U.S. Pat. No.5,464,765 or by the direct incubation of DNA with germinating pollen,DeWet et al. in Experimental Manipulation of Ovule Tissue, eds. Chapman,G. P. and Mantell, S. H. and Daniels, W. Longman, London, (1985) p.197-209; and Ohta, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1986) 83:715-719.

The Agrobacterium system includes the use of plasmid vectors thatcontain defined DNA segments that integrate into the plant genomic DNA.Methods of inoculation of the plant tissue vary depending upon the plantspecies and the Agrobacterium delivery system. A widely used approach isthe leaf disc procedure which can be performed with any tissue explantthat provides a good source for initiation of whole plantdifferentiation. See, e.g., Horsch et al. in Plant Molecular BiologyManual A5, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (1988) p. 1-9. Asupplementary approach employs the Agrobacterium delivery system incombination with vacuum infiltration. The Agrobacterium system isespecially viable in the creation of transgenic dicotyledonous plants.

There are various methods of direct DNA transfer into plant cells. Inelectroporation, the protoplasts are briefly exposed to a strongelectric field. In microinjection, the DNA is mechanically injecteddirectly into the cells using very small micropipettes. In microparticlebombardment, the DNA is adsorbed on microprojectiles such as magnesiumsulfate crystals or tungsten particles, and the microprojectiles arephysically accelerated into cells or plant tissues.

Following stable transformation plant propagation is exercised. The mostcommon method of plant propagation is by seed. Regeneration by seedpropagation, however, has the deficiency that due to heterozygositythere is a lack of uniformity in the crop, since seeds are produced byplants according to the genetic variances governed by Mendelian rules.Basically, each seed is genetically different and each will grow withits own specific traits. Therefore, it is preferred that the transformedplant be produced such that the regenerated plant has the identicaltraits and characteristics of the parent transgenic plant. Therefore, itis preferred that the transformed plant be regenerated bymicropropagation which provides a rapid, consistent reproduction of thetransformed plants.

Micropropagation is a process of growing new generation plants from asingle piece of tissue that has been excised from a selected parentplant or cultivar. This process permits the mass reproduction of plantshaving the preferred tissue expressing the fusion protein. The newgeneration plants which are produced are genetically identical to, andhave all of the characteristics of, the original plant. Micropropagationallows mass production of quality plant material in a short period oftime and offers a rapid multiplication of selected cultivars in thepreservation of the characteristics of the original transgenic ortransformed plant. The advantages of cloning plants are the speed ofplant multiplication and the quality and uniformity of plants produced.

Micropropagation is a multi-stage procedure that requires alteration ofculture medium or growth conditions between stages. Thus, themicropropagation process involves four basic stages: Stage one, initialtissue culturing; stage two, tissue culture multiplication; stage three,differentiation and plant formation; and stage four, greenhouseculturing and hardening. During stage one, initial tissue culturing, thetissue culture is established and certified contaminant-free. Duringstage two, the initial tissue culture is multiplied until a sufficientnumber of tissue samples are produced to meet production goals. Duringstage three, the tissue samples grown in stage two are divided and growninto individual plantlets. At stage four, the transformed plantlets aretransferred to a greenhouse for hardening where the plants' tolerance tolight is gradually increased so that it can be grown in the naturalenvironment.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the transgenic plantsare generated by transient transformation of leaf cells, meristematiccells or the whole plant.

Transient transformation can be effected by any of the direct DNAtransfer methods described above or by viral infection using modifiedplant viruses.

Viruses that have been shown to be useful for the transformation ofplant hosts include CaMV, Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), brome mosaic virus(BMV) and Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BV or BCMV). Transformation ofplants using plant viruses is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,237 (beangolden mosaic virus; BGV), EP-A 67,553 (TMV), Japanese PublishedApplication No. 63-14693 (TMV), EPA 194,809 (BV), EPA 278,667 (BV); andGluzman, Y. et al., Communications in Molecular Biology: Viral Vectors,Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, pp. 172-189 (1988). Pseudovirusparticles for use in expressing foreign DNA in many hosts, includingplants are described in WO 87/06261.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the virus used fortransient transformations is avirulent and thus is incapable of causingsevere symptoms such as reduced growth rate, mosaic, ring spots, leafroll, yellowing, streaking, pox formation, tumor formation and pitting.A suitable avirulent virus may be a naturally occurring avirulent virusor an artificially attenuated virus. Virus attenuation may be effectedby using methods well known in the art including, but not limited to,sub-lethal heating, chemical treatment or by directed mutagenesistechniques such as described, for example, by Kurihara and Watanabe(Molecular Plant Pathology 4:259-269, 2003), Gal-on et al. (1992),Atreya et al. (1992) and Huet et al. (1994).

Suitable virus strains can be obtained from available sources such as,for example, the American Type culture Collection (ATCC) or by isolationfrom infected plants. Isolation of viruses from infected plant tissuescan be effected by techniques well known in the art such as described,for example by Foster and Tatlor, Eds. “Plant Virology Protocols: FromVirus Isolation to Transgenic Resistance (Methods in Molecular Biology(Humana Pr), Vol 81)”, Humana Press, 1998. Briefly, tissues of aninfected plant believed to contain a high concentration of a suitablevirus, preferably young leaves and flower petals, are ground in a buffersolution (e.g., phosphate buffer solution) to produce a virus infectedsap which can be used in subsequent inoculations.

Construction of plant RNA viruses for the introduction and expression ofnon-viral exogenous polynucleotide sequences in plants is demonstratedby the above references as well as by Dawson, W. O. et al., Virology(1989) 172:285-292; Takamatsu et al. EMBO J. (1987) 6:307-311; French etal. Science (1986) 231:1294-1297; Takamatsu et al. FEBS Letters (1990)269:73-76; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,931.

When the virus is a DNA virus, suitable modifications can be made to thevirus itself. Alternatively, the virus can first be cloned into abacterial plasmid for ease of constructing the desired viral vector withthe foreign DNA. The virus can then be excised from the plasmid. If thevirus is a DNA virus, a bacterial origin of replication can be attachedto the viral DNA, which is then replicated by the bacteria.Transcription and translation of this DNA will produce the coat proteinwhich will encapsidate the viral DNA. If the virus is an RNA virus, thevirus is generally cloned as a cDNA and inserted into a plasmid. Theplasmid is then used to make all of the constructions. The RNA virus isthen produced by transcribing the viral sequence of the plasmid andtranslation of the viral genes to produce the coat protein(s) whichencapsidate the viral RNA.

In one embodiment, a plant viral polynucleotide is provided in which thenative coat protein coding sequence has been deleted from a viralpolynucleotide, a non-native plant viral coat protein coding sequenceand a non-native promoter, preferably the subgenomic promoter of thenon-native coat protein coding sequence, capable of expression in theplant host, packaging of the recombinant plant viral polynucleotide, andensuring a systemic infection of the host by the recombinant plant viralpolynucleotide, has been inserted. Alternatively, the coat protein genemay be inactivated by insertion of the non-native polynucleotidesequence within it, such that a protein is produced. The recombinantplant viral polynucleotide may contain one or more additional non-nativesubgenomic promoters. Each non-native subgenomic promoter is capable oftranscribing or expressing adjacent genes or polynucleotide sequences inthe plant host and incapable of recombination with each other and withnative subgenomic promoters. Non-native (foreign) polynucleotidesequences may be inserted adjacent the native plant viral subgenomicpromoter or the native and a non-native plant viral subgenomic promotersif more than one polynucleotide sequence is included. The non-nativepolynucleotide sequences are transcribed or expressed in the host plantunder control of the subgenomic promoter to produce the desiredproducts.

In a second embodiment, a recombinant plant viral polynucleotide isprovided as in the first embodiment except that the native coat proteincoding sequence is placed adjacent one of the non-native coat proteinsubgenomic promoters instead of a non-native coat protein codingsequence.

In a third embodiment, a recombinant plant viral polynucleotide isprovided in which the native coat protein gene is adjacent itssubgenomic promoter and one or more non-native subgenomic promoters havebeen inserted into the viral polynucleotide. The inserted non-nativesubgenomic promoters are capable of transcribing or expressing adjacentgenes in a plant host and are incapable of recombination with each otherand with native subgenomic promoters. Non-native polynucleotidesequences may be inserted adjacent the non-native subgenomic plant viralpromoters such that the sequences are transcribed or expressed in thehost plant under control of the subgenomic promoters to produce thedesired product.

In a fourth embodiment, a recombinant plant viral polynucleotide isprovided as in the third embodiment except that the native coat proteincoding sequence is replaced by a non-native coat protein codingsequence.

The viral vectors are encapsidated by the coat proteins encoded by therecombinant plant viral polynucleotide to produce a recombinant plantvirus. The recombinant plant viral polynucleotide or recombinant plantvirus is used to infect appropriate host plants. The recombinant plantviral polynucleotide is capable of replication in the host, systemicspread in the host, and transcription or expression of foreign gene(s)(exogenous polynucleotide) in the host to produce the desired protein.

Techniques for inoculation of viruses to plants may be found in Fosterand Taylor, eds. “Plant Virology Protocols: From Virus Isolation toTransgenic Resistance (Methods in Molecular Biology (Humana Pr), Vol81)”, Humana Press, 1998; Maramorosh and Koprowski, eds. “Methods inVirology” 7 vols, Academic Press, New York 1967-1984; Hill, S. A.“Methods in Plant Virology”, Blackwell, Oxford, 1984; Walkey, D. G. A.“Applied Plant Virology”, Wiley, New York, 1985; and Kado and Agrawa,eds. “Principles and Techniques in Plant Virology”, VanNostrand-Reinhold, New York.

In addition to the above, the polynucleotide of the present inventioncan also be introduced into a chloroplast genome thereby enablingchloroplast expression.

A technique for introducing exogenous polynucleotide sequences to thegenome of the chloroplasts is known. This technique involves thefollowing procedures. First, plant cells are chemically treated so as toreduce the number of chloroplasts per cell to about one. Then, theexogenous polynucleotide is introduced via particle bombardment into thecells with the aim of introducing at least one exogenous polynucleotidemolecule into the chloroplasts. The exogenous polynucleotides selectedsuch that it is integratable into the chloroplast's genome viahomologous recombination which is readily effected by enzymes inherentto the chloroplast. To this end, the exogenous polynucleotide includes,in addition to a gene of interest, at least one polynucleotide stretchwhich is derived from the chloroplast's genome. In addition, theexogenous polynucleotide includes a selectable marker, which serves bysequential selection procedures to ascertain that all or substantiallyall of the copies of the chloroplast genomes following such selectionwill include the exogenous polynucleotide. Further details relating tothis technique are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,945,050; and 5,693,507which are incorporated herein by reference. A polypeptide can thus beproduced by the protein expression system of the chloroplast and becomeintegrated into the chloroplast's inner membrane.

Since processes which increase yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oilcontent, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of aplant can involve multiple genes acting additively or in synergy (see,for example, in Quesda et al., Plant Physiol. 130:951-063, 2002), thepresent invention also envisages expressing a plurality of exogenouspolynucleotides in a single host plant to thereby achieve superioreffect on the yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, abioticstress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

Expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in a single hostplant can be effected by co-introducing multiple nucleic acidconstructs, each including a different exogenous polynucleotide, into asingle plant cell. The transformed cell can than be regenerated into amature plant using the methods described hereinabove.

Alternatively, expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in asingle host plant can be effected by co-introducing into a singleplant-cell a single nucleic-acid construct including a plurality ofdifferent exogenous polynucleotides. Such a construct can be designedwith a single promoter sequence which can transcribe a polycistronicmessenger RNA including all the different exogenous polynucleotidesequences. To enable co-translation of the different polypeptidesencoded by the polycistronic messenger RNA, the polynucleotide sequencescan be inter-linked via an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) sequencewhich facilitates translation of polynucleotide sequences positioneddownstream of the IRES sequence. In this case, a transcribedpolycistronic RNA molecule encoding the different polypeptides describedabove will be translated from both the capped 5′ end and the twointernal IRES sequences of the polycistronic RNA molecule to therebyproduce in the cell all different polypeptides. Alternatively, theconstruct can include several promoter sequences each linked to adifferent exogenous polynucleotide sequence.

The plant cell transformed with the construct including a plurality ofdifferent exogenous polynucleotides, can be regenerated into a matureplant, using the methods described hereinabove.

Alternatively, expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in asingle host plant can be effected by introducing different nucleic acidconstructs, including different exogenous polynucleotides, into aplurality of plants. The regenerated transformed plants can then becross-bred and resultant progeny selected for superior yield, growthrate, biomass, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/ornitrogen use efficiency traits, using conventional plant breedingtechniques.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method furthercomprising growing the plant expressing the exogenous polynucleotideunder the abiotic stress.

Non-limiting examples of abiotic stress conditions include, salinity,drought, water deprivation, excess of water (e.g., flood, waterlogging),etiolation, low temperature, high temperature, heavy metal toxicity,anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency, nutrient excess, atmosphericpollution and UV irradiation.

Thus, the invention encompasses plants exogenously expressing thepolynucleotide(s), the nucleic acid constructs and/or polypeptide(s) ofthe invention. Once expressed within the plant cell or the entire plant,the level of the polypeptide encoded by the exogenous polynucleotide canbe determined by methods well known in the art such as, activity assays,Western blots using antibodies capable of specifically binding thepolypeptide, Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA),radio-immuno-assays (RIA), immunohistochemistry, immunocytochemistry,immunofluorescence and the like.

Methods of determining the level in the plant of the RNA transcribedfrom the exogenous polynucleotide are well known in the art and include,for example, Northern blot analysis, reverse transcription polymerasechain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis (including quantitative,semi-quantitative or real-time RT-PCR) and RNA-in situ hybridization.

In addition, the endogenous homolog of the exogenous polynucleotide orpolypeptide of the invention, or a fragment of the endogenous homolog(e.g. introns or untranslated regions) in the plant can be used as amarker for marker assisted selection (MAS), in which a marker is usedfor indirect selection of a genetic determinant or determinants of atrait of interest (e.g., biomass, growth rate, oil content, yield,abiotic stress tolerance). These genes (DNA or RNA sequence) may containor be linked to polymorphic sites or genetic markers on the genome suchas restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), microsatellites andsingle nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), DNA fingerprinting (DFP),amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), expression levelpolymorphism, polymorphism of the encoded polypeptide and any otherpolymorphism at the DNA or RNA sequence.

Examples of marker assisted selections include, but are not limited to,selection for a morphological trait (e.g., a gene that affects form,coloration, male sterility or resistance such as the presence or absenceof awn, leaf sheath coloration, height, grain color, aroma of rice);selection for a biochemical trait (e.g., a gene that encodes a proteinthat can be extracted and observed; for example, isozymes and storageproteins); selection for a biological trait (e.g., pathogen races orinsect biotypes based on host pathogen or host parasite interaction canbe used as a marker since the genetic constitution of an organism canaffect its susceptibility to pathogens or parasites).

The polynucleotides and polypeptides described hereinabove can be usedin a wide range of economical plants, in a safe and cost effectivemanner.

Plant lines exogenously expressing the polynucleotide or the polypeptideof the invention are screened to identify those that show the greatestincrease of the desired plant trait.

The effect of the transgene (the exogenous polynucleotide encoding thepolypeptide) on abiotic stress tolerance can be determined using knownmethods such as detailed below and in the Examples section whichfollows.

Abiotic stress tolerance—Transformed (i.e., expressing the transgene)and non-transformed (wild type) plants are exposed to an abiotic stresscondition, such as water deprivation, suboptimal temperature (lowtemperature, high temperature), nutrient deficiency, nutrient excess, asalt stress condition, osmotic stress, heavy metal toxicity,anaerobiosis, atmospheric pollution and UV irradiation.

Salinity tolerance assay—Transgenic plants with tolerance to high saltconcentrations are expected to exhibit better germination, seedlingvigor or growth in high salt. Salt stress can be effected in many wayssuch as, for example, by irrigating the plants with a hyperosmoticsolution, by cultivating the plants hydroponically in a hyperosmoticgrowth solution (e.g., Hoagland solution), or by culturing the plants ina hyperosmotic growth medium [e.g., 50% Murashige-Skoog medium (MSmedium)]. Since different plants vary considerably in their tolerance tosalinity, the salt concentration in the irrigation water, growthsolution, or growth medium can be adjusted according to the specificcharacteristics of the specific plant cultivar or variety, so as toinflict a mild or moderate effect on the physiology and/or morphology ofthe plants (for guidelines as to appropriate concentration see,Bernstein and Kafkafi, Root Growth Under Salinity Stress In: PlantRoots, The Hidden Half 3rd ed. Waisel Y, Eshel A and Kafkafi U.(editors) Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, 2002, and reference therein).

For example, a salinity tolerance test can be performed by irrigatingplants at different developmental stages with increasing concentrationsof sodium chloride (for example 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM, 400 mM NaCl)applied from the bottom and from above to ensure even dispersal of salt.Following exposure to the stress condition the plants are frequentlymonitored until substantial physiological and/or morphological effectsappear in wild type plants. Thus, the external phenotypic appearance,degree of wilting and overall success to reach maturity and yieldprogeny are compared between control and transgenic plants.

Quantitative parameters of tolerance measured include, but are notlimited to, the average wet and dry weight, growth rate, leaf size, leafcoverage (overall leaf area), the weight of the seeds yielded, theaverage seed size and the number of seeds produced per plant.Transformed plants not exhibiting substantial physiological and/ormorphological effects, or exhibiting higher biomass than wild-typeplants, are identified as abiotic stress tolerant plants.

Osmotic tolerance test—Osmotic stress assays (including sodium chlorideand mannitol assays) are conducted to determine if an osmotic stressphenotype was sodium chloride-specific or if it was a general osmoticstress related phenotype. Plants which are tolerant to osmotic stressmay have more tolerance to drought and/or freezing. For salt and osmoticstress germination experiments, the medium is supplemented for examplewith 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM NaCl or 100 mM, 200 mM NaCl, 400 mM mannitol.

Drought tolerance assay/Osmoticum assay—Tolerance to drought isperformed to identify the genes conferring better plant survival afteracute water deprivation. To analyze whether the transgenic plants aremore tolerant to drought, an osmotic stress produced by the non-ionicosmolyte sorbitol in the medium can be performed. Control and transgenicplants are germinated and grown in plant-agar plates for 4 days, afterwhich they are transferred to plates containing 500 mM sorbitol. Thetreatment causes growth retardation, then both control and transgenicplants are compared, by measuring plant weight (wet and dry), yield, andby growth rates measured as time to flowering.

Conversely, soil-based drought screens are performed with plantsoverexpressing the polynucleotides detailed above. Seeds from controlArabidopsis plants, or other transgenic plants overexpressing thepolypeptide of the invention are germinated and transferred to pots.Drought stress is obtained after irrigation is ceased accompanied byplacing the pots on absorbent paper to enhance the soil-drying rate.Transgenic and control plants are compared to each other when themajority of the control plants develop severe wilting. Plants arere-watered after obtaining a significant fraction of the control plantsdisplaying a severe wilting. Plants are ranked comparing to controls foreach of two criteria: tolerance to the drought conditions and recovery(survival) following re-watering.

Cold stress tolerance—To analyze cold stress, mature (25 day old) plantsare transferred to 4° C. chambers for 1 or 2 weeks, with constitutivelight. Later on plants are moved back to greenhouse. Two weeks laterdamages from chilling period, resulting in growth retardation and otherphenotypes, are compared between both control and transgenic plants, bymeasuring plant weight (wet and dry), and by comparing growth ratesmeasured as time to flowering, plant size, yield, and the like.

Heat stress tolerance—Heat stress tolerance is achieved by exposing theplants to temperatures above 34° C. for a certain period. Planttolerance is examined after transferring the plants back to 22° C. forrecovery and evaluation after 5 days relative to internal controls(non-transgenic plants) or plants not exposed to neither cold or heatstress.

Water use efficiency—can be determined as the biomass produced per unittranspiration. To analyze WUE, leaf relative water content can bemeasured in control and transgenic plants. Fresh weight (FW) isimmediately recorded; then leaves are soaked for 8 hours in distilledwater at room temperature in the dark, and the turgid weight (TW) isrecorded. Total dry weight (DW) is recorded after drying the leaves at60° C. to a constant weight. Relative water content (RWC) is calculatedaccording to the following Formula I:

RWC=[(FW−DW)/(TW−DW)]×100  Formula I

Fertilizer use efficiency—To analyze whether the transgenic plants aremore responsive to fertilizers, plants are grown in agar plates or potswith a limited amount of fertilizer, as described, for example, inYanagisawa et al (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2004; 101:7833-8). The plantsare analyzed for their overall size, time to flowering, yield, proteincontent of shoot and/or grain. The parameters checked are the overallsize of the mature plant, its wet and dry weight, the weight of theseeds yielded, the average seed size and the number of seeds producedper plant. Other parameters that may be tested are: the chlorophyllcontent of leaves (as nitrogen plant status and the degree of leafverdure is highly correlated), amino acid and the total protein contentof the seeds or other plant parts such as leaves or shoots, oil content,etc. Similarly, instead of providing nitrogen at limiting amounts,phosphate or potassium can be added at increasing concentrations. Again,the same parameters measured are the same as listed above. In this way,nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), phosphate use efficiency (PUE) andpotassium use efficiency (KUE) are assessed, checking the ability of thetransgenic plants to thrive under nutrient restraining conditions.

Nitrogen use efficiency—To analyze whether the transgenic Arabidopsisplants are more responsive to nitrogen, plant are grown in 0.75-1.5 mM(nitrogen deficient conditions) or 6-10 mM (optimal nitrogenconcentration). Plants are allowed to grow for additional 20 days oruntil seed production. The plants are then analyzed for their overallsize, time to flowering, yield, protein content of shoot and/orgrain/seed production. The parameters checked can be the overall size ofthe plant, wet and dry weight, the weight of the seeds yielded, theaverage seed size and the number of seeds produced per plant. Otherparameters that may be tested are: the chlorophyll content of leaves (asnitrogen plant status and the degree of leaf greenness is highlycorrelated), amino acid and the total protein content of the seeds orother plant parts such as leaves or shoots and oil content. Transformedplants not exhibiting substantial physiological and/or morphologicaleffects, or exhibiting higher measured parameters levels than wild-typeplants, are identified as nitrogen use efficient plants.

Nitrogen Use Efficiency assay using plantlets—The assay is doneaccording to Yanagisawa-S. et al. with minor modifications (“Metabolicengineering with Dofl transcription factor in plants: Improved nitrogenassimilation and growth under low-nitrogen conditions” Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. USA 101, 7833-7838). Briefly, transgenic plants which are grown for7-10 days in 0.5×MS [Murashige-Skoog] supplemented with a selectionagent are transferred to two nitrogen-limiting conditions: MS media inwhich the combined nitrogen concentration (NH₄NO₃ and KNO₃) was 0.2 mMor 0.05 mM. Plants are allowed to grow for additional 30-40 days andthen photographed, individually removed from the Agar (the shoot withoutthe roots) and immediately weighed (fresh weight) for later statisticalanalysis. Constructs for which only T1 seeds are available are sown onselective media and at least 25 seedlings (each one representing anindependent transformation event) are carefully transferred to thenitrogen-limiting media. For constructs for which T2 seeds areavailable, different transformation events are analyzed. Usually, 25randomly selected plants from each event are transferred to thenitrogen-limiting media allowed to grow for 3-4 additional weeks andindividually weighed at the end of that period. Transgenic plants arecompared to control plants grown in parallel under the same conditions.Mock-transgenic plants expressing the uidA reporter gene (GUS) under thesame promoter are used as control.

Nitrogen determination—The procedure for N (nitrogen) concentrationdetermination in the structural parts of the plants involves thepotassium persulfate digestion method to convert organic N to NO₃ ⁻(Purcell and King 1996 Argon. J. 88:111-113, the modified Cd⁻ mediatedreduction of NO₃ ⁻ to NO₂ ⁻ (Vodovotz 1996 Biotechniques 20:390-394) andthe measurement of nitrite by the Griess assay (Vodovotz 1996, supra).The absorbance values are measured at 550 nm against a standard curve ofNaNO₂. The procedure is described in details in Samonte et al. 2006Agron. J. 98:168-176.

Germination tests—Germination tests compare the percentage of seeds fromtransgenic plants that could complete the germination process to thepercentage of seeds from control plants that are treated in the samemanner. Normal conditions are considered for example, incubations at 22°C. under 22-hour light 2-hour dark daily cycles. Evaluation ofgermination and seedling vigor is conducted between 4 and 14 days afterplanting. The basal media is 50% MS medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962Plant Physiology 15, 473-497).

Germination is checked also at unfavorable conditions such as cold(incubating at temperatures lower than 10° C. instead of 22° C.) orusing seed inhibition solutions that contain high concentrations of anosmolyte such as sorbitol (at concentrations of 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM,300 mM, 500 mM, and up to 1000 mM) or applying increasing concentrationsof salt (of 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM, 300 mM, 500 mM NaCl).

The effect of the transgene on plant's vigor, growth rate, biomass,yield and/or oil content can be determined using known methods.

Plant vigor—The plant vigor can be calculated by the increase in growthparameters such as leaf area, fiber length, rosette diameter, plantfresh weight and the like per time.

Growth rate—The growth rate can be measured using digital analysis ofgrowing plants. For example, images of plants growing in greenhouse onplot basis can be captured every 3 days and the rosette area can becalculated by digital analysis. Rosette area growth is calculated usingthe difference of rosette area between days of sampling divided by thedifference in days between samples.

Evaluation of growth rate can be done by measuring plant biomassproduced, rosette area, leaf size or root length per time (can bemeasured in cm² per day of leaf area).

Relative growth rate area can be calculated using Formula II.

Relative growth area rate=Regression coefficient of area along timecourse.  Formula II:

Thus, the relative growth area rate is in units of 1/day and lengthgrowth rate is in units of 1/day.

Seed yield—Evaluation of the seed yield per plant can be done bymeasuring the amount (weight or size) or quantity (i.e., number) of dryseeds produced and harvested from 8-16 plants and divided by the numberof plants.

For example, the total seeds from 8-16 plants can be collected, weightedusing e.g., an analytical balance and the total weight can be divided bythe number of plants. Seed yield per growing area can be calculated inthe same manner while taking into account the growing area given to asingle plant. Increase seed yield per growing area could be achieved byincreasing seed yield per plant, and/or by increasing number of plantscapable of growing in a given area.

In addition, seed yield can be determined via the weight of 1000 seeds.The weight of 1000 seeds can be determined as follows: seeds arescattered on a glass tray and a picture is taken. Each sample isweighted and then using the digital analysis, the number of seeds ineach sample is calculated.

The 1000 seeds weight can be calculated using formula III:

1000 Seed Weight=number of seed in sample/sample weight×1000  FormulaIII:

The Harvest Index can be calculated using Formula IV

Harvest Index=Average seed yield per plant/Average dry weight  FormulaIV:

Grain protein concentration—Grain protein content (g grain protein m⁻²)is estimated as the product of the mass of grain N (g grain N m⁻²)multiplied by the N/protein conversion ratio of k-5.13 (Mosse 1990,supra). The grain protein concentration is estimated as the ratio ofgrain protein content per unit mass of the grain (g grain protein kg⁻¹grain).

Fiber length—Fiber length can be measured using fibrograph. Thefibrograph system was used to compute length in terms of “Upper HalfMean” length. The upper half mean (UHM) is the average length of longerhalf of the fiber distribution. The fibrograph measures length in spanlengths at a given percentage point (Hypertext Transfer Protocol://WorldWide Web (dot) cottoninc (dot) com/ClassificationofCotton/?Pg=4#Length).

According to some embodiments of the invention, increased yield of cornmay be manifested as one or more of the following: increase in thenumber of plants per growing area, increase in the number of ears perplant, increase in the number of rows per ear, number of kernels per earrow, kernel weight, thousand kernel weight (1000-weight), earlength/diameter, increase oil content per kernel and increase starchcontent per kernel.

As mentioned, the increase of plant yield can be determined by variousparameters. For example, increased yield of rice may be manifested by anincrease in one or more of the following: number of plants per growingarea, number of panicles per plant, number of spikelets per panicle,number of flowers per panicle, increase in the seed filling rate,increase in thousand kernel weight (1000-weight), increase oil contentper seed, increase starch content per seed, among others. An increase inyield may also result in modified architecture, or may occur because ofmodified architecture.

Similarly, increased yield of soybean may be manifested by an increasein one or more of the following: number of plants per growing area,number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, increase in the seedfilling rate, increase in thousand seed weight (1000-weight), reduce podshattering, increase oil content per seed, increase protein content perseed, among others. An increase in yield may also result in modifiedarchitecture, or may occur because of modified architecture.

Increased yield of canola may be manifested by an increase in one ormore of the following: number of plants per growing area, number of podsper plant, number of seeds per pod, increase in the seed filling rate,increase in thousand seed weight (1000-weight), reduce pod shattering,increase oil content per seed, among others. An increase in yield mayalso result in modified architecture, or may occur because of modifiedarchitecture.

Increased yield of cotton may be manifested by an increase in one ormore of the following: number of plants per growing area, number ofbolls per plant, number of seeds per boll, increase in the seed fillingrate, increase in thousand seed weight (1000-weight), increase oilcontent per seed, improve fiber length, fiber strength, among others. Anincrease in yield may also result in modified architecture, or may occurbecause of modified architecture.

Oil content—The oil content of a plant can be determined by extractionof the oil from the seed or the vegetative portion of the plant.Briefly, lipids (oil) can be removed from the plant (e.g., seed) bygrinding the plant tissue in the presence of specific solvents (e.g.,hexane or petroleum ether) and extracting the oil in a continuousextractor. Indirect oil content analysis can be carried out usingvarious known methods such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)Spectroscopy, which measures the resonance energy absorbed by hydrogenatoms in the liquid state of the sample [See for example, Conway T F.and Earle F R., 1963, Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society;Springer Berlin/Heidelberg, ISSN: 0003-021X (Print) 1558-9331 (Online)];the Near Infrared (NI) Spectroscopy, which utilizes the absorption ofnear infrared energy (1100-2500 nm) by the sample; and a methoddescribed in WO/2001/023884, which is based on extracting oil a solvent,evaporating the solvent in a gas stream which forms oil particles, anddirecting a light into the gas stream and oil particles which forms adetectable reflected light.

Thus, the present invention is of high agricultural value for promotingthe yield of commercially desired crops (e.g., biomass of vegetativeorgan such as poplar wood, or reproductive organ such as number of seedsor seed biomass).

Any of the transgenic plants described hereinabove or parts thereof maybe processed to produce a feed, meal, protein or oil preparation, suchas for ruminant animals.

The transgenic plants described hereinabove, which exhibit an increasedoil content can be used to produce plant oil (by extracting the oil fromthe plant).

The plant oil (including the seed oil and/or the vegetative portion oil)produced according to the method of the invention may be combined with avariety of other ingredients. The specific ingredients included in aproduct are determined according to the intended use. Exemplary productsinclude animal feed, raw material for chemical modification,biodegradable plastic, blended food product, edible oil, biofuel,cooking oil, lubricant, biodiesel, snack food, cosmetics, andfermentation process raw material. Exemplary products to be incorporatedto the plant oil include animal feeds, human food products such asextruded snack foods, breads, as a food binding agent, aquaculturefeeds, fermentable mixtures, food supplements, sport drinks, nutritionalfood bars, multi-vitamin supplements, diet drinks, and cereal foods.According to some embodiments of the invention, the oil comprises a seedoil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the oil comprises avegetative portion oil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant cell forms apart of a plant.

As used herein the term “about” refers to ±10%.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, “including”, “having”and their conjugates mean “including but not limited to”.

The term “consisting of” means “including and limited to”.

The term “consisting essentially of” means that the composition, methodor structure may include additional ingredients, steps and/or parts, butonly if the additional ingredients, steps and/or parts do not materiallyalter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed composition,method or structure.

As used herein, the singular form “a”, “an” and “the” include pluralreferences unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example,the term “a compound” or “at least one compound” may include a pluralityof compounds, including mixtures thereof.

Throughout this application, various embodiments of this invention maybe presented in a range format. It should be understood that thedescription in range format is merely for convenience and brevity andshould not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the description of a range should be consideredto have specifically disclosed all the possible sub-ranges as well asindividual numerical values within that range. For example, descriptionof a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specificallydisclosed sub-ranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6 etc., as well as individual numberswithin that range, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This appliesregardless of the breadth of the range.

Whenever a numerical range is indicated herein, it is meant to includeany cited numeral (fractional or integral) within the indicated range.The phrases “ranging/ranges between” a first indicate number and asecond indicate number and “ranging/ranges from” a first indicate number“to” a second indicate number are used herein interchangeably and aremeant to include the first and second indicated numbers and all thefractional and integral numerals therebetween.

As used herein the term “method” refers to manners, means, techniquesand procedures for accomplishing a given task including, but not limitedto, those manners, means, techniques and procedures either known to, orreadily developed from known manners, means, techniques and proceduresby practitioners of the chemical, pharmacological, biological,biochemical and medical arts.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, forclarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also beprovided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in thecontext of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or inany suitable subcombination or as suitable in any other describedembodiment of the invention. Certain features described in the contextof various embodiments are not to be considered essential features ofthose embodiments, unless the embodiment is inoperative without thoseelements.

Various embodiments and aspects of the present invention as delineatedhereinabove and as claimed in the claims section below find experimentalsupport in the following examples.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms usedherein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used inthe practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplarymethods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, thepatent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition,the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are notintended to be necessarily limiting.

EXAMPLES

Reference is now made to the following examples, which together with theabove descriptions illustrate some embodiments of the invention in a nonlimiting fashion.

Generally, the nomenclature used herein and the laboratory proceduresutilized in the present invention include molecular, biochemical,microbiological and recombinant DNA techniques. Such techniques arethoroughly explained in the literature. See, for example, “MolecularCloning: A laboratory Manual” Sambrook et al., (1989); “CurrentProtocols in Molecular Biology” Volumes I-III Ausubel, R. M., ed.(1994); Ausubel et al., “Current Protocols in Molecular Biology”, JohnWiley and Sons, Baltimore, Md. (1989); Perbal, “A Practical Guide toMolecular Cloning”, John Wiley & Sons, New York (1988); Watson et al.,“Recombinant DNA”, Scientific American Books, New York; Birren et al.(eds) “Genome Analysis: A Laboratory Manual Series”, Vols. 1-4, ColdSpring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York (1998); methodologies as setforth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,666,828; 4,683,202; 4,801,531; 5,192,659 and5,272,057; “Cell Biology: A Laboratory Handbook”, Volumes I-III Cellis,J. E., ed. (1994); “Current Protocols in Immunology” Volumes I-IIIColigan J. E., ed. (1994); Stites et al. (eds), “Basic and ClinicalImmunology” (8th Edition), Appleton & Lange, Norwalk, Conn. (1994);Mishell and Shiigi (eds), “Selected Methods in Cellular Immunology”, W.H. Freeman and Co., New York (1980); available immunoassays areextensively described in the patent and scientific literature, see, forexample, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,791,932; 3,839,153; 3,850,752; 3,850,578;3,853,987; 3,867,517; 3,879,262; 3,901,654; 3,935,074; 3,984,533;3,996,345; 4,034,074; 4,098,876; 4,879,219; 5,011,771 and 5,281,521;“Oligonucleotide Synthesis” Gait, M. J., ed. (1984); “Nucleic AcidHybridization” Hames, B. D., and Higgins S. J., eds. (1985);“Transcription and Translation” Hames, B. D., and Higgins S. J., Eds.(1984); “Animal Cell Culture” Freshney, R. I., ed. (1986); “ImmobilizedCells and Enzymes” IRL Press, (1986); “A Practical Guide to MolecularCloning” Perbal, B., (1984) and “Methods in Enzymology” Vol. 1-317,Academic Press; “PCR Protocols: A Guide To Methods And Applications”,Academic Press, San Diego, Calif. (1990); Marshak et al., “Strategiesfor Protein Purification and Characterization—A Laboratory CourseManual” CSHL Press (1996); all of which are incorporated by reference asif fully set forth herein. Other general references are providedthroughout this document. The procedures therein are believed to be wellknown in the art and are provided for the convenience of the reader. Allthe information contained therein is incorporated herein by reference.

Example 1 Gene Identification and Gene Role Prediction UsingBioinformatics Tools

The present inventors have identified polynucleotides which can increaseplant yield, seed yield, oil yield, oil content, biomass, growth rate,abiotic stress tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency and/or vigor of aplant, as follows.

The nucleotide sequence datasets used here were from publicly availabledatabases or from sequences obtained using the Solexa technology (e.g.Barley and Sorghum). Sequence data from 100 different plant species wasintroduced into a single, comprehensive database. Other information ongene expression, protein annotation, enzymes and pathways were alsoincorporated. Major databases used include:

Genomes

Arabidopsis genome [TAIR genome version 6 (Hypertext TransferProtocol://World Wide Web (dot) arabidopsis (dot) org/)];

Rice genome [IRGSP build 4.0 (Hypertext Transfer Protocol://rgp (dot)dna (dot) affrc (dot) go (dot) jp/IRGSP/)];

Poplar [Populus trichocarpa release 1.1 from JGI (assembly release v1.0)(Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) genome (dot) jgi-psf(dot) org/)];

Brachypodium [JGI 4× assembly, Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World WideWeb (dot) brachpodium (dot) org)];

Soybean [DOE-JGI SCP, version Glyma0 (Hypertext TransferProtocol://World Wide Web (dot) phytozome (dot) net/)];

Grape [French-Italian Public Consortium for Grapevine GenomeCharacterization grapevine genome (Hypertext Transfer Protocol://WorldWide Web (dot) genoscope (dot) cns (dot) fr/)];

Castobean [TIGR/J Craig Venter Institute 4× assembly [(HypertextTransfer Protocol://msc (dot) jcvi (dot) org/r communis];

Sorghum [DOE-JGI SCP, version Sbi1 [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://WorldWide Web (dot) phytozome (dot) net/)];

Partially assembled genome of Maize [Hypertext TransferProtocol://maizesequence (dot) org/];

Expressed EST and mRNA Sequences were Extracted from the FollowingDatabases:

GenBank versions 154, 157, 160, 161, 164, 165, 166 and 168 (HypertextTransfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot)gov/dbEST/);

RefSeq (Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) ncbi (dot)nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/RefSeq/);

TAIR (Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) arabidopsis(dot) org/);

Protein and Pathway Databases

Uniprot [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) uniprot(dot) org/].

AraCyc [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) arabidopsis(dot) org/biocyc/index (dot) jsp].

ENZYME [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://expasy (dot) org/enzyme/].

Microarray Datasets were Downloaded from:

GEO (Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/)TAIR (Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web.arabidopsis.org/).

Proprietary microarray data (See WO2008/122980 and Example 3 below).

QTL and SNPs Information

Gramene [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) gramene(dot) org/qt1/].

Panzea [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) panzea (dot)org/index (dot) html].

Database Assembly—was performed to build a wide, rich, reliableannotated and easy to analyze database comprised of publicly availablegenomic mRNA, ESTs DNA sequences, data from various crops as well asgene expression, protein annotation and pathway data QTLs, and otherrelevant information.

Database assembly is comprised of a toolbox of gene refining,structuring, annotation and analysis tools enabling to construct atailored database for each gene discovery project. Gene refining andstructuring tools enable to reliably detect splice variants andantisense transcripts, generating understanding of various potentialphenotypic outcomes of a single gene. The capabilities of the “LEADS”platform of Compugen LTD for analyzing human genome have been confirmedand accepted by the scientific community [see e.g., “WidespreadAntisense Transcription”, Yelin, et al. (2003) Nature Biotechnology 21,379-85; “Splicing of Alu Sequences”, Lev-Maor, et al. (2003) Science 300(5623), 1288-91; “Computational analysis of alternative splicing usingEST tissue information”, Xie H et al. Genomics 2002], and have beenproven most efficient in plant genomics as well.

EST clustering and gene assembly—For gene clustering and assembly oforganisms with available genome sequence data (arabidopsis, rice,castorbean, grape, brachypodium, poplar, soybean, sorghum) the genomicLEADS version (GANG) was employed. This tool allows most accurateclustering of ESTs and mRNA sequences on genome, and predicts genestructure as well as alternative splicing events and anti-sensetranscription.

For organisms with no available full genome sequence data, “expressedLEADS” clustering software was applied.

Gene annotation—Predicted genes and proteins were annotated as follows:

Blast search [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://blast (dot) ncbi (dot) nlm(dot) nih (dot) gov/Blast (dot) cgi] against all plant UniProt[Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) uniprot (dot) org/]sequences was performed. Open reading frames of each putative transcriptwere analyzed and longest ORF with higher number of homologues wasselected as predicted protein of the transcript. The predicted proteinswere analyzed by InterPro [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web(dot) ebi (dot) ac (dot) uk/interpro/].

Blast against proteins from AraCyc and ENZYME databases was used to mapthe predicted transcripts to AraCyc pathways.

Predicted proteins from different species were compared using blastalgorithm [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) ncbi (dot)nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/Blast (dot) cgi] to validate the accuracy of thepredicted protein sequence, and for efficient detection of orthologs.

Gene expression profiling—Several data sources were exploited for geneexpression profiling which combined microarray data and digitalexpression profile (see below). According to gene expression profile, acorrelation analysis was performed to identify genes which areco-regulated under different developmental stages and environmentalconditions and which are associated with different phenotypes.

Publicly available microarray datasets were downloaded from TAIR andNCBI GEO sites, renormalized, and integrated into the database.Expression profiling is one of the most important resource data foridentifying genes important for yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oilcontent, abiotic stress tolerance of plants and nitrogen use efficieny.

A digital expression profile summary was compiled for each clusteraccording to all keywords included in the sequence records comprisingthe cluster. Digital expression, also known as electronic Northern Blot,is a tool that displays virtual expression profile based on the ESTsequences forming the gene cluster. The tool provides the expressionprofile of a cluster in terms of plant anatomy (e.g., the tissue/organin which the gene is expressed), developmental stage (the developmentalstages at which a gene can be found) and profile of treatment (providesthe physiological conditions under which a gene is expressed such asdrought, cold, pathogen infection, etc). Given a random distribution ofESTs in the different clusters, the digital expression provides aprobability value that describes the probability of a cluster having atotal of N ESTs to contain X ESTs from a certain collection oflibraries. For the probability calculations, the following is taken intoconsideration: a) the number of ESTs in the cluster, b) the number ofESTs of the implicated and related libraries, c) the overall number ofESTs available representing the species. Thereby clusters with lowprobability values are highly enriched with ESTs from the group oflibraries of interest indicating a specialized expression.

Recently, the accuracy of this system was demonstrated by Portnoy etal., 2009 (Analysis Of The Melon Fruit Transcriptome Based On 454Pyrosequencing) in: Plant & Animal Genomes XVII Conference, San Diego,Calif. Transcriptomic analysis, based on relative EST abundance in datawas performed by 454 pyrosequencing of cDNA representing mRNA of themelon fruit. Fourteen double strand cDNA samples obtained from twogenotypes, two fruit tissues (flesh and rind) and four developmentalstages were sequenced. GS FLX pyrosequencing (Roche/454 Life Sciences)of non-normalized and purified cDNA samples yielded 1,150,657 expressedsequence tags that assembled into 67,477 unigenes (32,357 singletons and35,120 contigs). Analysis of the data obtained against the CucurbitGenomics Database [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot)icugi (dot) org/] confirmed the accuracy of the sequencing and assembly.Expression patterns of selected genes fitted well their qRT-PCR data.

Example 2 Production of Arabidopsis Transcriptom and High ThroughputCorrelation Analysis of Yirld, Biomass and/or Vigor Related ParametersUsing 44K Arabidopsis Full Genome Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

To produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventorsutilized an Arabidopsis thaliana oligonucleotide micro-array, producedby Agilent Technologies [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web(dot) chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879].The array oligonucleotide represents about 40,000 A. thaliana genes andtranscripts designed based on data from the TIGR ATH1 v.5 database andArabidopsis MPSS (University of Delaware) databases. To definecorrelations between the levels of RNA expression and yield, biomasscomponents or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of15 different Arabidopsis ecotypes were analyzed. Among them, nineecotypes encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNAexpression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and thecharacterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test[Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) davidmlane (dot)com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

RNA extraction—Five tissues at different developmental stages includingroot, leaf, flower at anthesis, seed at 5 days after flowering (DAF) andseed at 12 DAF, representing different plant characteristics, weresampled and RNA was extracted using TRIzol Reagent from Invitrogen[Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) invitrogen (dot)com/content (dot) cfm?pageid=469]. For convenience, each micro-arrayexpression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarizedin Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 Tissues used for Arabidopsis transcriptom expression setsExpression Set Set ID Root A Leaf B Flower C Seed 5 DAF D Seed 12 DAF ETable 1: Provided are the identification (ID) letters of each of theArabidopsis expression sets (A-E). DAF = days after flowering.

Approximately 30-50 mg of tissue was taken from samples. The weighedtissues were ground using pestle and mortar in liquid nitrogen andresuspended in 500 μl of TRIzol Reagent. To the homogenized lysate, 100μl of chloroform was added followed by precipitation using isopropanoland two washes with 75% ethanol. The RNA was eluted in 30 μl ofRNase-free water. RNA samples were cleaned up using Qiagen's RNeasyminikit clean-up protocol as per the manufacturer's protocol.

Yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—eight out ofthe nine Arabidopsis ecotypes were used in each of 5 repetitive blocks(named A, B, C, D and E), each containing 20 plants per plot. The plantswere grown in a greenhouse at controlled conditions in 22° C., and theN:P:K fertilizer (20:20:20; weight ratios) [nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P)and potassium (K)] was added. During this time data was collected,documented and analyzed. Additional data was collected through theseedling stage of plants grown in a tissue culture in vertical growntransparent agar plates. Most of chosen parameters were analyzed bydigital imaging.

Digital imaging in Tissue culture—A laboratory image acquisition systemwas used for capturing images of plantlets sawn in square agar plates.The image acquisition system consists of a digital reflex camera (CanonEOS 300D) attached to a 55 mm focal length lens (Canon EF-S series),mounted on a reproduction device (Kaiser R S), which included 4 lightunits (4×150 Watts light bulb) and located in a darkroom.

Digital imaging in Greenhouse—The image capturing process was repeatedevery 3-4 days starting at day 7 till day 30. The same camera attachedto a 24 mm focal length lens (Canon EF series), placed in a custom madeiron mount, was used for capturing images of larger plants sawn in whitetubs in an environmental controlled greenhouse. The white tubs weresquare shape with measurements of 36×26.2 cm and 7.5 cm deep. During thecapture process, the tubs were placed beneath the iron mount, whileavoiding direct sun light and casting of shadows. This process wasrepeated every 3-4 days for up to 30 days.

An image analysis system was used, which consists of a personal desktopcomputer (Intel P4 3.0

GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37, Java based imageprocessing program, which was developed at the U.S National Institutesof Health and is freely available on the internet at Hypertext TransferProtocol://rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured inresolution of 6 Mega Pixels (3072×2048 pixels) and stored in a lowcompression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format.Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMPstatistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Leaf analysis—Using the digital analysis leaves data was calculated,including leaf number, area, perimeter, length and width. On day 30, 3-4representative plants were chosen from each plot of blocks A, B and C.The plants were dissected, each leaf was separated and was introducedbetween two glass trays, a photo of each plant was taken and the variousparameters (such as leaf total area, laminar length etc.) werecalculated from the images. The blade circularity was calculated aslaminar width divided by laminar length.

Root analysis—During 17 days, the different ecotypes were grown intransparent agar plates. The plates were photographed every 3 daysstarting at day 7 in the photography room and the roots development wasdocumented (see examples in FIGS. 3A-3F). The growth rate of roots wascalculated according to Formula V.

Relative growth rate of root coverage=Regression coefficient of rootcoverage along time course.  Formula V:

Vegetative growth rate analysis—was calculated according to Formula VI.The analysis was ended with the appearance of overlapping plants.

Relative vegetative growth rate area=Regression coefficient ofvegetative area along time course.  Formula VI

For comparison between ecotypes the calculated rate was normalized usingplant developmental stage as represented by the number of true leaves.In cases where plants with 8 leaves had been sampled twice (for exampleat day 10 and day 13), only the largest sample was chosen and added tothe Anova comparison.

Seeds in siliques analysis—On day 70, 15-17 siliques were collected fromeach plot in blocks D and E. The chosen siliques were light brown colorbut still intact. The siliques were opened in the photography room andthe seeds were scatter on a glass tray, a high resolution digitalpicture was taken for each plot. Using the images the number of seedsper silique was determined.

Seeds average weight—At the end of the experiment all seeds from plotsof blocks A-C were collected. An average weight of 0.02 grams wasmeasured from each sample, the seeds were scattered on a glass tray anda picture was taken. Using the digital analysis, the number of seeds ineach sample was calculated.

Oil percentage in seeds—At the end of the experiment all seeds fromplots of blocks A-C were collected. Columbia seeds from 3 plots weremixed grounded and then mounted onto the extraction chamber. 210 ml ofn-Hexane (Cat No. 080951 Biolab Ltd.) were used as the solvent. Theextraction was performed for 30 hours at medium heat 50° C. Once theextraction has ended the n-Hexane was evaporated using the evaporator at35° C. and vacuum conditions. The process was repeated twice. Theinformation gained from the Soxhlet extractor (Soxhlet, F. Diegewichtsanalytische Bestimmung des Milchfettes, Polytechnisches J.(Dingler's) 1879, 232, 461) was used to create a calibration curve forthe Low Resonance NMR. The content of oil of all seed samples wasdetermined using the Low Resonance NMR (MARAN Ultra-Oxford Instrument)and its MultiQuant sowftware package.

Silique length analysis—On day 50 from sowing, 30 siliques fromdifferent plants in each plot were sampled in block A. The chosensiliques were green-yellow in color and were collected from the bottomparts of a grown plant's stem. A digital photograph was taken todetermine silique's length.

Dry weight and seed yield—On day 80 from sowing, the plants from blocksA-C were harvested and left to dry at 30° C. in a drying chamber. Thebiomass and seed weight of each plot was separated, measured and dividedby the number of plants. Dry weight=total weight of the vegetativeportion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 30° C. in adrying chamber; Seed yield per plant=total seed weight per plant (gr).

Oil yield—The oil yield was calculated using Formula VII.

Seed Oil yield=Seed yield per plant(gr)*Oil % in seed  Formula VII:

Harvest Index—The harvest index was calculated using Formula IV asdescribed above [Harvest Index=Average seed yield per plant/Average dryweight].

Experimental Results

Nine different Arabidopsis ecotypes were grown and characterized for 18parameters (named as vectors). Data parameters are summarized in Table2, below.

TABLE 2 Arabidopsis correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameterwith Correlation ID Root length day 13 (cm) 1 Root length day 7 (cm) 2Relative root growth (cm/day) day 13 3 Fresh weight per plant (gr) atbolting stage 4 Dry matter per plant (gr) 5 Vegetative growth rate(cm²/day) till 8 true leaves 6 Blade circularity 7 Lamina width (cm) 8Lamina length (cm) 9 Total leaf area per plant (cm) 10 1000 Seed weight(gr) 11 Oil % per seed 12 Seeds per silique 13 Silique length (cm) 14Seed yield per plant (gr) 15 Oil yield per plant (mg) 16 Harvest Index17 Leaf width/length 18 Table 2. Provided are the Arabidopsis correlatedparameters (correlation ID Nos. 1-18). Abbreviations: Cm =centimeter(s); gr = gram(s); mg = milligram(s).

The characterized values are summarized in Tables 3 and 4 below.

TABLE 3 Measured parameters in Arabidopsis ecotypes Total Seed Oil Dryleaf yield yield 1000 matter area per per Oil % Seed per per SeedsSilique plant plant per weight plant Harvest plant per length Ecotype(gr) (mg) seed (gr) (gr) Index (cm) silique (cm) An-1 0.34 118.63 34.420.0203 0.64 0.53 46.86 45.44 1.06 Col-0 0.44 138.73 31.19 0.0230 1.270.35 109.89 53.47 1.26 Ct-1 0.59 224.06 38.05 0.0252 1.05 0.56 58.3658.47 1.31 Cvi 0.42 116.26 27.76 0.0344 1.28 0.33 56.80 35.27 1.47(N8580) Gr-6 0.61 218.27 35.49 0.0202 1.69 0.37 114.66 48.56 1.24Kondara 0.43 142.11 32.91 0.0263 1.34 0.32 110.82 37.00 1.09 Ler-1 0.36114.15 31.56 0.0205 0.81 0.45 88.49 39.38 1.18 Mt-0 0.62 190.06 30.790.0226 1.21 0.51 121.79 40.53 1.18 Shakdara 0.55 187.62 34.02 0.02351.35 0.41 93.04 25.53 1.00 Table 3. Provided are the values of each ofthe parameters measured in Arabidopsis ecotypes: Seed yield per plant(gram); oil yield per plant (mg); oil % per seed; 1000 seed weight (gr);dry matter per plant (gr); harvest index; total leaf area per plant(cm); seeds per silique; Silique length (cm).

TABLE 4 Additional measured parameters in Arabidopsis ecotypes FreshRelat. Root Root weight Leaf root length length per Lam. Lam. width/Blade Ecotype Veg. GR growth day 7 day 13 plant Leng. width lengthcircularity An-1 0.313 0.631 0.937 4.419 1.510 2.767 1.385 0.353 0.509Col-0 0.378 0.664 1.759 8.530 3.607 3.544 1.697 0.288 0.481 Ct-1 0.4841.176 0.701 5.621 1.935 3.274 1.460 0.316 0.450 Cvi 0.474 1.089 0.7284.834 2.082 3.785 1.374 0.258 0.370 (N8580) Gr-6 0.425 0.907 0.991 5.9573.556 3.690 1.828 0.356 0.501 Kondara 0.645 0.774 1.163 6.372 4.3384.597 1.650 0.273 0.376 Ler-1 0.430 0.606 1.284 5.649 3.467 3.877 1.5100.305 0.394 Mt-0 0.384 0.701 1.414 7.060 3.479 3.717 1.817 0.335 0.491Shakdara 0.471 0.782 1.251 7.041 3.710 4.149 1.668 0.307 0.409 Table 4.Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured inArabidopsis ecotypes: Veg. GR = vegetative growth rate (cm²/day) until 8true leaves; Relat. Root growth = relative root growth (cm/day); Rootlength day 7 (cm); Root length day 13 (cm); fresh weight per plant (gr)at bolting stage; Lam. Leng. = Lamima length (cm); Lam. Width = Laminawidth (cm); Leaf width/length; Blade circularity.

Tables 5-7, below, provide the selected genes, the characterizedparameters (which are used as x axis for correlation) and the correlatedtissue transcriptom along with the correlation value (R, calculatedusing Pearson correlation). When the correlation coefficient (R) betweenthe levels of a gene's expression in a certain tissue and a phenotypicperformance across ecotypes is high in absolute value (between 0.5-1),there is an association between the gene (specifically the expressionlevel of this gene) and the phenotypic character. A positive correlationindicates that the expression of the gene in a certain tissue ordevelopmental stage and the correlation vector (phenotype performance)are positively associated (both, expression and phenotypic performanceincrease or decrease simultaneously) while a negative correlationindicates a negative association (while the one is increasing the otheris decreasing and vice versa).

TABLE 5 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes inspecific tissues or developmental stages and the phenotypic performanceacross Arabidopsis ecotypes Gene Name Corr. Vec. Exp. Set R Corr. Vec.Exp. Set R Corr. Vec. Exp. Set R BDL117 1 C −0.907 1 A −0.809 13 D 0.961BDL118 13 A 0.817 6 A 0.805 5 D −0.821 BDL118 17 D 0.958 17 D 0.834 8 D−0.833 BDL118 8 D −0.845 10 D −0.912 10 D −0.975 BDL118 4 D −0.904BDL126 5 B 0.942 BDL138 16 C 0.841 15 C 0.813 16 B 0.878 BDL138 15 B0.896 13 A 0.94 BDL140 14 C 0.841 3 C 0.821 11 C 0.855 BDL140 14 B 0.83611 B 0.855 7 E −0.812 BDL140 6 E 0.889 13 D 0.826 14 D 0.862 BDL147 16 B0.948 15 B 0.898 BDL149 14 B 0.83 3 B 0.891 14 A 0.951 BDL152 16 D 0.9693 D 0.855 15 D 0.987 BDL153 14 C 0.836 11 C 0.823 14 A −0.862 BDL153 11A 0.88 8 D −0.81 BDL154 11 C 0.874 BDL155 16 B 0.829 16 A 0.86 BDL156 3C 0.923 14 B 0.901 BDL157 3 B 0.854 2 B −0.825 5 D −0.803 BDL157 17 D0.923 9 D −0.809 8 D −0.834 BDL157 10 D −0.915 4 D −0.89 BDL158 8 B0.953 10 B 0.945 4 B 0.899 BDL158 11 A −0.833 BDL160 7 C 0.82 18 C 0.9728 A 0.918 BDL160 8 A 0.839 8 A 0.834 10 A 0.93 BDL160 10 A 0.93 4 A0.862 1 E 0.864 BDL160 1 E 0.841 2 E 0.861 2 E 0.839 BDL160 8 D 0.867 8D 0.811 10 D 0.824 BDL162 5 B 0.89 BDL163 16 B 0.925 15 B 0.884 18 E0.828 BDL165 8 B 0.952 10 B 0.902 4 B 0.821 BDL165 8 E 0.807 15 E 0.81611 D 0.846 BDL167 16 B 0.899 15 B 0.946 17 D 0.859 BDL167 2 D −0.806BDL168 16 C 0.97 15 C 0.929 8 B 0.931 BDL168 10 B 0.88 13 A −0.835 5 D−0.911 BDL168 8 D −0.946 10 D −0.849 BDL169 14 B −0.82 11 B −0.848 12 A0.901 BDL171 14 C −0.842 2 B −0.844 5 A 0.803 BDL171 1 A −0.851 2 A−0.821 5 D −0.827 BDL171 17 D 0.958 17 D 0.853 17 D 0.825 BDL171 9 D−0.82 8 D −0.87 16 D 0.857 BDL171 10 D −0.901 10 D −0.948 4 D −0.808BDL171 4 D −0.932 15 D 0.838 BDL173 7 B 0.892 9 B −0.874 18 B 0.816BDL173 17 D 0.948 8 D −0.888 10 D −0.974 BDL173 4 D −0.871 BDL174 17 C0.901 5 D −0.917 8 D −0.879 BDL174 10 D −0.85 BDL176 5 D −0.907 8 D−0.913 13 D 0.93 BDL177 17 C 0.919 17 B 0.91 17 D 0.82 BDL181 16 C 0.89315 C 0.838 8 B 0.816 BDL181 12 A 0.931 16 A 0.823 18 E 0.819 BDL181 16 D0.865 15 D 0.856 BDL182 12 A 0.913 12 D 0.825 BDL183 16 B 0.915 15 B0.898 BDL186 12 B 0.944 11 B 0.833 8 D −0.807 BDL187 16 B 0.908 15 B0.835 5 D −0.803 BDL187 8 D −0.892 BDL188 14 B 0.904 12 D 0.964 3 D0.857 BDL188 2 D −0.886 BDL189 16 B 0.951 15 B 0.907 6 E −0.854 BDL189 8D −0.821 1 D −0.938 BDL190 16 B 0.857 15 B 0.91 7 E −0.865 BDL192 7 B0.907 9 B −0.806 17 D 0.91 BDL192 10 D −0.907 4 D −0.94 2 D −0.82 BDL1938 C 0.846 12 B 0.904 11 B 0.876 BDL193 11 A 0.885 11 E 0.923 5 D −0.801BDL193 8 D −0.802 8 D −0.844 10 D −0.806 BDL194 12 B 0.933 18 D 0.877BDL196 16 D 0.917 15 D 0.937 BDL197 13 A 0.91 8 D 0.837 BDL200 2 C 0.81816 B 0.864 15 B 0.832 BDL200 14 A 0.917 1 E 0.815 3 D 0.851 BDL201 9 C0.846 5 D 0.916 17 D −0.906 BDL201 8 D 0.954 10 D 0.947 4 D 0.865 BDL20310 B 0.926 4 B 0.893 14 A −0.828 BDL219 1 A 0.879 2 A 0.821 9 E −0.801BDL220 8 B 0.822 10 B 0.844 4 B 0.839 BDL221 12 C 0.897 16 C 0.917 15 C0.814 BDL221 3 B 0.936 9 D −0.936 6 D −0.897 BDL221 4 D −0.808 BDL222 1B 0.829 2 B 0.887 1 A 0.875 BDL222 2 A 0.849 2 D 0.925 BDL223 14 C 0.9314 B 0.835 3 B 0.851 BDL223 14 A 0.831 BDL224 5 E −0.826 9 E −0.872BDL225 7 C 0.833 15 B −0.806 13 A −0.836 BDL227 2 A −0.931 BDL229 10 B0.858 2 D 0.832 BDL231 16 B 0.911 15 B 0.869 11 D 0.88 BDL233 14 C−0.885 BDL235 11 E 0.808 12 D 0.818 2 D −0.887 BDL240 1 D −0.808 BDL24113 A −0.88 BDL242 11 B 0.889 BDL243 11 B 0.929 BDL245 3 A −0.863 11 A−0.832 16 D −0.806 BDL247 16 B 0.816 BDL248 13 A −0.829 BDL249 8 C −0.8416 E −0.808 15 E −0.892 BDL250 9 A −0.805 2 E −0.85 17 D 0.815 BDL250 10D −0.809 4 D −0.804 1 D −0.9 BDL251 18 C 0.802 7 D −0.861 BDL47 8 B0.845 BDL49 7 E 0.805 9 E −0.883 6 E −0.809 BDL62 18 A 0.862 6 E −0.86913 D 0.829 BDL75 11 C 0.816 5 B 0.945 8 B 0.823 BDL79 7 B 0.876 18 B0.841 12 D 0.884 BDL79 2 D −0.938 BDL81 8 C 0.897 12 B 0.803 1 D −0.81BDL81 2 D −0.86 BDL83 3 C −0.861 2 C 0.905 BDL85 8 D 0.82 Table 5.Provided are the correlations between the expression level of selectedgenes in specific tissues or developmental stages (expression sets) andthe phenotypic performance (correlation vector) across Arabidopsisecotypes. The phenotypic characters [correlation (Corr.) vector (Vec.)]include yield (seed yield, oil yield, oil content), biomass, growth rateand/or vigor components as described in Tables 2, 3 and 4. Exp. Set =expression set according to Table 1 hereinabove.

Table 6 hereinbelow provides data about the homologous of selectedgenes, the characterized parameters (which are used as x axis forcorrelation) and the correlated tissue transcriptom along with thecorrelation value (R, calculated using Pearson correlation).

TABLE 6 Correlation between the expression level of homologous of theselected genes in specific tissues or developmental stages and thephenotypic performance across Arabidopsis ecotypes Gene Name Exp. SetCorr. Vec. R BDL155 H1 leaf relative root growth 0.814 BDL155 H1seed5daf Silique length −0.855 BDL171 H0 leaf Leaf width/length 0.835BDL171 H0 seed5daf Dry matter per plant −0.82 BDL171 H0 seed5daf Laminawidth −0.813 BDL183 H0 seed12daf Blade circularity −0.878 BDL231 H0flower seed weight 0.825 BDL231 H0 leaf Silique length 0.816 BDL231 H0leaf relative root growth 0.854 BDL231 H0 root seed weight 0.92 BDL248H0 seed5daf relative root growth 0.851 BDL70 H0 seed12daf Lamina length−0.816 BDL70 H0 seed5daf seed yield per plant −0.82 Table 6. Providedare the correlations between the expression levels of homologues ofselected Arabidopsis genes in various tissues or developmental stages(Expression sets) and the phenotypic performance in various yield (seedyield, oil yield, oil content), biomass, growth rate and/or vigorcomponents [Correlation (Corr.) vector (Vec.)] Corr. Vec. = correlationvector specified in Tables 2, 3 and 4; Exp. Set = expression setspecified in Table 1.

Example 3 Production of Arabidopsis Transcriptom and High ThroughputCorrelation Analysis of Normal and Nitrogen Limiting Conditions Using44K Arabidopsis Oligonucleotide Micro-Array

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the presentinventors utilized a Arabidopsis oligonucleotide micro-array, producedby Agilent Technologies [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web(dot) chem (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879].The array oligonucleotide represents about 44,000 Arabidopsis genes andtranscripts. To define correlations between the levels of RNA expressionwith NUE, yield components or vigor related parameters various plantcharacteristics of 14 different Arabidopsis ecotypes were analyzed.Among them, ten ecotypes encompassing the observed variance wereselected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNAlevels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearsoncorrelation test [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot)davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

RNA extraction—Two tissues of plants [leaves and stems] growing at twodifferent nitrogen fertilization levels (1.5 mM Nitrogen or 6 mMNitrogen) were sampled and RNA was extracted using TRIzol Reagent fromInvitrogen [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot)invitrogen (dot) com/content (dot)cfm?pageid=469]. For convenience, eachmicro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID assummarized in Table 7 below.

TABLE 7 Tissues used for Arabidopsis transcriptom expression setsExpression Set Set ID Leaves at 1.5 mM Nitrogen fertilization A Leavesat 6 mM Nitrogen fertilization B Stems at 1.5 mM Nitrogen fertilizationC Stem at 6 mM Nitrogen fertilization D Table 7: Provided are theidentification (ID) letters of each of the Arabidopsis expression sets.

Approximately 30-50 mg of tissue was taken from samples. The weighedtissues were ground using pestle and mortar in liquid nitrogen andresuspended in 500 μl of TRIzol Reagent. To the homogenized lysate, 100μl of chloroform was added followed by precipitation using isopropanoland two washes with 75% ethanol. The RNA was eluted in 30 μl ofRNase-free water. RNA samples were cleaned up using Qiagen's RNeasyminikit clean-up protocol as per the manufacturer's protocol (QIAGENInc, CA USA).

Assessment of Arabidopsis yield components and vigor related parametersunder different nitrogen fertilization levels—10 Arabidopsis accessionsin 2 repetitive plots each containing 8 plants per plot were grown atgreenhouse. The growing protocol used was as follows: surface sterilizedseeds were sown in Eppendorf tubes containing 0.5×Murashige-Skoog basalsalt medium and grown at 23° C. under 12-hour light and 12-hour darkdaily cycles for 10 days. Then, seedlings of similar size were carefullytransferred to pots filled with a mix of perlite and peat in a 1:1ratio. Constant nitrogen limiting conditions were achieved by irrigatingthe plants with a solution containing 1.5 mM inorganic nitrogen in theform of KNO₃, supplemented with 2 mM CaCl₂, 1.25 mM KH₂PO₄, 1.50 mMMgSO₄, 5 mM KCl, 0.01 mM H₃BO₃ and microelements, while normalirrigation conditions (Normal Nitrogen conditions) was achieved byapplying a solution of 6 mM inorganic nitrogen also in the form of KNO₃,supplemented with 2 mM CaCl₂, 1.25 mM KH₂PO₄, 1.50 mM MgSO₄, 0.01 mMH₃BO₃ and microelements. To follow plant growth, trays were photographedthe day nitrogen limiting conditions were initiated and subsequentlyevery 3 days for about 15 additional days. Rosette plant area was thendetermined from the digital pictures. ImageJ software was used forquantifying the plant size from the digital pictures [Hypertext TransferProtocol://rsb (dot) info (dot) nih (dot) gov/ij/] utilizing proprietaryscripts designed to analyze the size of rosette area from individualplants as a function of time. The image analysis system included apersonal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a publicdomain program—ImageJ 1.37 (Java based image processing program, whichwas developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freelyavailable on the internet [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://rsbweb (dot)nih (dot) gov/]. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files andprocessed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Data parameters collected are summarized in Table 8, hereinbelow.

TABLE 8 Arabidopsis correlated parameters (vectors) Correlated parameterwith Correlation Id N 1.5 mM; Rosette Area at day 8 [cm²] 1 N 1.5 mM;Rosette Area at day 10 [cm²] 2 N 1.5 mM; Plot Coverage at day 8 [%] 3 N1.5 mM; Plot Coverage at day 10 [%] 4 N 1.5 mM; Leaf Number at day 10 5N 1.5 mM; Leaf Blade Area at day 10 [cm²] 6 N 1.5 mM; RGR of RosetteArea at day 3 [cm²/day] 7 N 1.5 mM; t50 Flowering [day] 8 N 1.5 mM; DryWeight [gr/plant] 9 N 1.5 mM; Seed Yield [gr/plant] 10 N 1.5 mM; HarvestIndex 11 N 1.5 mM; 1000 Seeds weight [gr] 12 N 1.5 mM; seedyield/rosette area at day 10 [gr/cm²] 13 N 1.5 mM; seed yield/leaf blade[gr/cm²] 14 N 1.5 mM; % Seed yield reduction compared to N 6 mM 15 N 1.5mM; % Biomass reduction compared to N 6 mM 16 N 1.5 mM; N level/DW [SPADunit/gr] 17 N 1.5 mM; DW/N level [gr/SPAD unit] 18 N 1.5 mM; seedyield/N level [gr/SPAD unit] 19 N 6 mM; Rosette Area at day 8 [cm²] 20 N6 mM; Rosette Area at day 10 [cm²] 21 N 6 mM; Plot Coverage at day 8 [%]22 N 6 mM; Plot Coverage at day 10 [%] 23 N 6 mM; Leaf Number at day 1024 N 6 mM; Leaf Blade Area at day 10 25 N 6 mM; RGR of Rosette Area atday 3 [cm²/gr] 26 N 6 mM; t50 Flowering [day] 27 N 6 mM; Dry Weight[gr/plant] 28 N 6 mM; Seed Yield [gr/plant] 29 N 6 mM; Harvest Index 30N 6 mM; 1000 Seeds weight [gr] 31 N 6 mM; seed yield/rosette area day atday 10 [gr/cm²] 32 N 6 mM; seed yield/leaf blade [gr/cm²] 33 N 6 mM; Nlevel/FW 34 N 6 mM; DW/N level [gr/SPAD unit] 35 N 6 mM; N level/DW(SPAD unit/gr plant) 36 N 6 mM; Seed yield/N unit [gr/SPAD unit] 37Table 8. Provided are the Arabidopsis correlated parameters (vectors).“N” = Nitrogen at the noted concentrations; “gr.” = grams; “SPAD” =chlorophyll levels; “t50” = time where 50% of plants flowered; “gr/SPADunit” = plant biomass expressed in grams per unit of nitrogen in plantmeasured by SPAD. “DW” = Plant Dry Weight; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “Nlevel/DW” = plant Nitrogen level measured in SPAD unit per plant biomass[gr]; “DW/N level” = plant biomass per plant [gr]/SPAD unit; RosetteArea (measured using digital analysis); Plot Coverage at the indicatedday [%] (calculated by the dividing the total plant area with the totalplot area); Leaf Blade Area at the indicated day [cm²] (measured usingdigital analysis); RGR (relative growth rate) of Rosette Area at theindicated day [cm²/day] (calculated using Formula II); t50 Flowering[day] (the day in which 50% of plant flower); seed yield/rosette area atday 10 [gr/cm²] (calculated); seed yield/leaf blade [gr/cm²](calculated); seed yield/N level [gr/SPAD unit] (calculated).

Assessment of NUE, yield components and vigor-related parameters—TenArabidopsis ecotypes were grown in trays, each containing 8 plants perplot, in a greenhouse with controlled temperature conditions for about12 weeks. Plants were irrigated with different nitrogen concentration asdescribed above depending on the treatment applied. During this time,data was collected documented and analyzed. Most of chosen parameterswere analyzed by digital imaging.

Digital Imaging—Greenhouse Assay

An image acquisition system, which consists of a digital reflex camera(Canon EOS 400D) attached with a 55 mm focal length lens (Canon EF-Sseries) placed in a custom made Aluminum mount, was used for capturingimages of plants planted in containers within an environmentalcontrolled greenhouse. The image capturing process is repeated every 2-3days starting at day 9-12 till day 16-19 (respectively) fromtransplanting.

An image processing system was used, which consists of a personaldesktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domainprogram—ImageJ 1.37, Java based image processing software, which wasdeveloped at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is freelyavailable on the internet at Hypertext Transfer Protocol://rsbweb (dot)nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels(3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (JointPhotographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, image processingoutput data was saved to text files and analyzed using the JMPstatistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Leaf analysis—Using the digital analysis leaves data was calculated,including leaf number, leaf blade area, plot coverage, Rosette diameterand Rosette area.

Relative growth rate area: The relative growth rate of the rosette andthe leaves was calculated according to Formula II as described above.

Seed yield and 1000 seeds weight—At the end of the experiment all seedsfrom all plots were collected and weighed in order to measure seed yieldper plant in terms of total seed weight per plant (gr). For thecalculation of 1000 seed weight, an average weight of 0.02 grams wasmeasured from each sample, the seeds were scattered on a glass tray anda picture was taken. Using the digital analysis, the number of seeds ineach sample was calculated.

Dry weight and seed yield—At the end of the experiment, plant wereharvested and left to dry at 30° C. in a drying chamber. The biomass wasseparated from the seeds, weighed and divided by the number of plants.Dry weight=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground(excluding roots) after drying at 30° C. in a drying chamber.

Harvest Index—The harvest index was calculated using Formula IV asdescribed above [Harvest Index=Average seed yield per plant/Average dryweight].

T₅₀ days to flowering—Each of the repeats was monitored for floweringdate. Days of flowering was calculated from sowing date till 50% of theplots flowered.

Plant nitrogen level—The chlorophyll content of leaves is a goodindicator of the nitrogen plant status since the degree of leafgreenness is highly correlated to this parameter. Chlorophyll contentwas determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter andmeasurement was performed at time of flowering. SPAD meter readings weredone on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf weretaken per plot. Based on this measurement, parameters such as the ratiobetween seed yield per nitrogen unit [seed yield/N level=seed yield perplant [gr]/SPAD unit], plant DW per nitrogen unit [DW/N level=plantbiomass per plant [g]/SPAD unit], and nitrogen level per gram of biomass[N level/DW=SPAD unit/plant biomass per plant (gr)] were calculated.

Percent of seed yield reduction—measures the amount of seeds obtained inplants when grown under nitrogen-limiting conditions compared to seedyield produced at normal nitrogen levels expressed in %.

Experimental Results

10 different Arabidopsis accessions (ecotypes) were grown andcharacterized for 37 parameters as described above. The average for eachof the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software andvalues are summarized in Table 9 below. Subsequent correlation analysisbetween the various transcriptom sets (Table 7) was conducted. Followingare the results integrated to the database.

TABLE 9 Correlation between the expression level of selected genes intissues under limiting or normal nitrogen fertilization and thephenotypic performance across Arabidopsis ecotypes Gene Name Exp. SetCorr. Vec. R Exp. Set Corr. Vec R Exp. Set Corr. Vec. R BDL117 D 31−0.748 A 12 −0.784 BDL118 C 11 −0.914 C 10 −0.723 C 14 −0.75 BDL118 C 80.74 BDL118 D 31 −0.766 B 30 −0.752 D 30 −0.794 BDL118 D 29 −0.715 B 270.791 A 11 −0.747 BDL117 D 31 −0.748 A 12 −0.784 BDL118 C 11 −0.914 C 10−0.723 C 14 −0.75 BDL118 C 8 0.74 BDL126 A 1 −0.719 BDL126 D 25 0.801 A6 −0.715 A 2 −0.711 BDL138 B 28 −0.797 B 27 −0.786 C 9 −0.754 BDL140 D28 −0.761 BDL147 D 30 −0.703 C 11 −0.7 BDL149 C 9 −0.744 A 1 0.703BDL152 A 14 −0.705 BDL154 B 26 0.896 B 32 0.76 B 33 0.861 BDL155 C 9−0.719 BDL155_H0 B 28 0.768 D 28 0.757 D 29 0.751 BDL155_H0 C 7 0.743BDL156 D 24 0.725 D 21 0.734 BDL157 B 29 0.714 BDL158 B 30 −0.722 B 270.708 BDL160 A 12 −0.807 C 9 −0.771 C 5 −0.797 BDL160 C 2 −0.816 BDL162B 31 −0.792 BDL165 C 11 −0.755 C 8 0.748 BDL167 C 10 −0.898 C 14 −0.894C 13 −0.874 BDL167 C 15 0.737 BDL167 D 30 −0.75 C 11 −0.709 C 7 −0.821BDL168 A 9 0.703 A 11 −0.786 BDL168 B 30 −0.73 D 21 0.721 B 27 0.738BDL169 A 11 −0.804 A 10 −0.746 A 14 −0.714 BDL169 A 13 −0.708 A 8 0.707BDL171 B 33 0.865 A 9 −0.735 BDL171 D 25 0.879 B 26 0.891 D 21 0.765BDL171 D 20 0.711 B 29 0.735 B 32 0.741 BDL171_H0 C 15 0.719 C 8 0.78BDL173 B 26 0.723 B 33 0.72 A 15 0.751 BDL174 C 16 0.7 C 9 −0.73 BDL176D 25 0.713 D 24 −0.713 D 26 0.765 BDL176 D 21 0.702 D 20 −0.719 D 320.806 BDL176 D 33 0.759 A 7 0.746 BDL177 B 27 −0.713 A 11 0.792 BDL181 C10 −0.75 C 14 −0.795 C 13 −0.805 BDL181 C 15 0.72 A 8 0.794 BDL117 D 31−0.748 A 12 −0.784 BDL118 C 11 −0.914 C 10 −0.723 C 14 −0.75 BDL118 C 80.74 BDL181 D 31 −0.704 B 27 0.723 C 11 −0.725 BDL182 A 6 0.728 A 20.717 A 1 0.763 BDL183 A 12 −0.764 BDL183_H0 A 2 −0.725 BDL186 A 10−0.754 A 13 −0.713 A 15 0.805 BDL186 A 8 0.865 BDL186 B 31 −0.714 B 270.722 A 11 −0.816 BDL187 A 2 0.711 A 1 0.801 A 10 −0.775 BDL187 A 14−0.843 A 13 −0.89 A 15 0.721 BDL189 A 13 −0.859 A 15 0.748 A 8 0.759BDL189 B 30 −0.702 B 27 0.832 A 11 −0.71 BDL189 C 7 −0.714 A 10 −0.825 A14 −0.82 BDL192 B 24 −0.788 B 21 −0.863 B 20 −0.857 BDL192 B 29 −0.701 B32 0.769 BDL192 D 28 −0.764 B 30 −0.785 B 25 −0.802 BDL193 A 6 −0.754 A2 −0.781 A 1 −0.875 BDL193 A 14 −0.732 BDL193 D 30 −0.721 D 29 −0.819 C11 −0.7 BDL194 B 25 0.786 B 21 0.707 BDL196 D 25 −0.715 D 21 −0.71 D 20−0.715 BDL197 A 6 −0.701 A 5 −0.843 A 2 −0.89 BDL197 A 1 −0.827 BDL201 A10 −0.768 A 14 −0.84 A 13 −0.872 BDL201 A 15 0.746 BDL201 B 29 −0.815 A2 0.747 A 1 0.784 BDL220 C 11 −0.81 BDL220 D 30 −0.707 B 29 −0.785 C 90.752 BDL221 A 2 0.768 C 2 0.763 A 1 0.817 BDL221 B 31 −0.81 D 25 −0.743D 24 −0.896 BDL221 C 1 0.74 BDL221 D 21 −0.826 D 20 −0.776 A 5 0.825BDL222 D 27 −0.716 A 11 0.77 A 14 0.731 BDL223 C 11 −0.757 C 15 0.786 C8 0.821 BDL223_H0 C 11 −0.736 BDL223_H1 C 8 0.784 BDL223_H1 D 24 0.823 A21 0.815 C 15 0.793 BDL117 D 31 −0.748 A 12 −0.784 BDL118 C 11 −0.914 C10 −0.723 C 14 −0.75 BDL118 C 8 0.74 BDL229 C 11 −0.798 C 10 −0.723 C 14−0.771 BDL229 C 13 −0.769 A 8 0.753 C 8 0.828 BDL229 D 30 −0.787 B 270.793 D 27 0.873 BDL231 A 11 −0.798 C 6 −0.704 A 10 −0.826 BDL231 A 14−0.836 A 13 −0.843 A 15 0.823 BDL231 A 8 0.768 BDL231_H0 A 11 −0.779 A10 −0.799 A 14 −0.841 BDL231_H0 A 13 −0.835 A 15 0.706 A 8 0.721 BDL233C 8 0.835 BDL233 D 28 0.755 C 11 −0.768 C 15 0.725 BDL235 C 11 −0.87 C10 −0.749 A 14 −0.741 BDL235 C 14 −0.726 A 13 −0.702 C 8 0.802 BDL240 A8 0.742 BDL240 D 24 0.794 B 27 0.737 A 11 −0.787 BDL241 B 27 0.752BDL242 A 5 −0.719 A 15 −0.722 BDL245 D 31 −0.875 BDL247 D 31 0.851BDL249 A 8 −0.707 BDL249 C 12 0.707 A 11 0.82 A 10 0.727 BDL250 A 100.717 A 14 0.797 A 13 0.81 BDL252 C 9 −0.707 C 7 −0.714 BDL49 B 30 0.866B 26 0.85 B 29 0.933 BDL49 B 33 0.762 BDL58 B 26 0.763 D 26 0.755 B 290.897 BDL58 C 14 0.816 C 13 0.855 C 15 −0.784 BDL58 C 8 −0.843 BDL58 D32 0.758 D 33 0.778 C 10 0.8 BDL62 C 11 −0.858 C 10 −0.739 C 14 −0.77BDL62 C 13 −0.747 C 8 0.819 BDL63 C 16 −0.704 BDL64 B 31 −0.793 C 5−0.739 BDL70_H0 C 8 0.757 BDL75 C 11 −0.716 C 8 0.713 BDL75 D 31 −0.776D 28 0.75 D 30 −0.832 BDL79 B 31 −0.77 BDL85 C 10 0.824 C 14 0.754 C 130.721 BDL117 D 31 −0.748 A 12 −0.784 BDL118 C 11 −0.914 C 10 −0.723 C 14−0.75 BDL118 C 8 0.74 BDL85 C 15 −0.705 Table 9. Provided are thecorrelations (R) between the expression levels of selected genes intissues (leaves or stems) under limiting (1.5 mM Nitrogen) or normal (6mM Nitrogen) conditions (Expression sets) and the phenotypic performancein various yield (seed yield, oil yield, oil content), biomass, growthrate and/or vigor components [Correlation (Corr.) vector (Vec.)] underlimiting or normal Nitrogen conditions. Corr. Vec. = correlation vectoraccording to Table 8 hereinabove; Exp. Set = expression set according toTable 7 hereinabove.

Example 4 Production of Sorghum Transcriptom and High ThroughputCorrelation Analysis with ABST Related Parametrers Using 44K SorguhmOligonucleotide Micro-Arrays

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the presentinventors utilized a Sorghum oligonucleotide micro-array, produced byAgilent Technologies [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot)chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. Thearray oligonucleotide represents about 44,000 Sorghum genes andtranscripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNAexpression with ABST and yield components or vigor related parameters,various plant characteristics of 17 different sorghum varieties wereanalyzed. Among them, 10 varieties encompassing the observed variancewere selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between theRNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearsoncorrelation test [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot)davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Correlation of Sorghum Varieties Across Ecotype Grown Under SevereDrought Conditions

Experimental Procedures

17 Sorghum varieties were grown in 3 repetitive plots, in field.Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: sorghum seeds were sown insoil and grown under normal condition until around 35 days from sowing,around V8 (Last leaf visible, but still rolled up, ear beginning toswell). At this point, irrigation was stopped, and severe drought stresswas developed. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNAexpression with drought, yield components or vigor related parameters,the 17 different sorghum varieties were analyzed. Among them, 10varieties encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNAexpression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and thecharacterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test[Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) davidmlane (dot)com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

RNA extraction—All 10 selected Sorghum varieties were sample per eachtreatment. Plant tissues [Flag leaf and Flower meristem] growing undersevere drought stress and plants grown under Normal conditions weresampled and RNA was extracted using TRIzol Reagent from Invitrogen[Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) invitrogen (dot)com/content (dot)cfm?pageid=469]. For convenience, each micro-arrayexpression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarizedin Table 10 below.

TABLE 10 Sorghum transcriptom expression sets Expression Set Set IDDrought Stress: Flag leaf U Normal conditions: Flag leaf X Normalconditions: Flower meristem Y Table 10: Provided are the sorghumtranscriptom expression set U, X and Y. Flag leaf = the leaf below theflower; Flower meristem = Apical meristem following panicle initiation.

The collected data parameters were as follows:

Grain per Plant (gr.)—At the end of the experiment (Inflorescence weredry) all spikes from plots within blocks A-C were collected. 5Inflorescence were separately threshed and grains were weighted, alladditional Inflorescence were threshed together and weighted as well.The average weight per Inflorescence was calculated by dividing thetotal grain weight by number of total Inflorescence per plot, or in caseof 5 inflorescence, by weight by the total grain number by 5.

Plant height—Plants were characterized for height during growing periodat 6 time points. In each measure, plants were measured for their heightusing a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top ofthe longest leaf.

Inflorescence Weight (gr.)—At the end of the experiment (whenInflorescence were dry) five Inflorescence from plots within blocks A-Cwere collected. The Inflorescence were weighted (gr.).

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at time of flowering.SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Threemeasurements per leaf were taken per plot.

Vegetative dry weight and Inflorescence—At the end of the experiment(when Inflorescence were dry) all Inflorescence and vegetative materialfrom plots within blocks A-C were collected. The biomass andInflorescence weight of each plot was separated, measured and divided bythe number of Inflorescence.

Dry weight=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground(excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours;

Harvest Index (for sorghum)—The harvest index is calculated usingFormula VIII.

Harvest Index=Average grain dry weight per Inflorescence/(Averagevegetative dry weight per Inflorescence+Average Inflorescence dryweight)  Formula VIII:

Experimental Results

16 different sorghum varieties were grown and characterized for 7parameters: “Seed/plant normal”=total seed weight per plant under normalconditions; “DW-5 Inflorescence Normal”—dry weight of five completeinflorescences (seeds and rachis) under normal conditions; “DW allNormal”=dry weight of per plot under normal conditions; “Weight of seeds(5 heads) gr Normal”=dry weight of seeds from five inflorescences undernormal conditions; “Plant Height 4 Drought”=plant height in the 4^(th)time point under drought conditions; “Plant Height 4 Normal”=plantheight in the 4^(th) time point under normal conditions; “Plant Height 6Normal”=plant height in the 6th time point under normal conditions. Theaverage for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMPsoftware and values are summarized in Table 11 below. Subsequentcorrelation analysis between the various transcriptom sets (Table 10)and the average parameters, was conducted (Tables 12). Results were thenintegrated to the database.

TABLE 11 Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions Weight of DW-5 seeds(5 Seed/Plant Inflorescence DW all heads) gr Plant Height Plant HeightPlant Height Seed ID Normal Normal Normal Normal 4 Drought 4 Normal 6Normal 20 0.031 0.039 5.408 0.237 38.000 37.313 37.313 21 0.026 0.0623.091 0.225 30.833 22 0.019 0.033 21.341 0.142 110.833 47.750 47.750 240.038 0.030 5.329 0.352 42.833 40.083 40.083 25 0.027 0.074 20.600 0.16149.583 45.938 45.938 26 0.046 0.049 21.685 0.332 49.750 41.438 41.438 270.048 0.046 11.205 0.317 46.875 44.875 44.875 28 0.031 0.033 9.045 0.22241.917 42.125 42.125 29 0.040 0.048 10.293 0.283 46.125 41.000 41.000 300.038 0.038 9.139 0.300 50.167 42.500 42.063 31 0.032 0.023 9.549 0.22743.583 41.875 41.875 32 0.033 0.039 10.424 0.277 50.833 43.375 43.375 330.033 0.049 10.150 0.353 42.417 39.813 39.813 34 0.052 0.050 8.783 0.35145.500 40.625 40.625 35 0.036 0.038 10.259 0.270 50.375 44.375 44.375 360.038 0.042 12.005 0.299 48.833 43.250 43.250 37 0.042 0.063 15.6810.263 49.833 41.000 41.000 Table 11: Provided are the values of each ofthe parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (SeedID) under normal and drought conditions. Growth conditions are specifiedin the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 12 Correlation between the expression level of homologues ofselected genes in various tissues and the phenotypic performance undernormal or abiotic stress conditions across Sorghum accessions Gene NameExp. Set Corr. Vec. R BDL102_H47 flower DW all Normal −0.721 BDL102_H47flower FW-Inflorescence/Plant Normal 0.717 BDL102_H47 flower PlantHeight 4 Normal −0.722 BDL102_H47 flower Plant Height 6 Normal −0.718BDL83_H57 flag leaf DW-5 Inflorescence Normal −0.712 BDL83_H57 flag leafSeed/Plant Normal −0.708 BDL83_H57 flower Plant Height 4 Normal 0.858BDL83_H57 flower Plant Height 6 Normal 0.853 BDL83_H58 flag leaf PlantHeight 4 Drought 0.763 BDL83_H58 flower Seed/Plant Low-N 0.759 BDL83_H58flower Weight of seeds (5 heads) −0.707 gr Normal BDL83_H58 FlowerLeaf_No 2 Normal 0.802 meristem BDL88_H13 Flag leaf Leaf_No 3 Drought−0.893 BDL88_H13 Flag leaf Leaf_TP 1 Drought −0.929 BDL88_H13 Flag leafPlant Height 2 Drought −0.796 BDL88_H13 Flag leaf Plant Height 3 Drought−0.837 BDL88_H13 Flag leaf Seed/Plant_Normal 0.73 Table 12. Provided arethe correlations (R) between the expression levels of homologues ofselected genes in tissues (Flag leaf or Flower meristem; Expressionsets) and the phenotypic performance in various yield, biomass, growthrate and/or vigor components [Correlation (Corr.) vector (Vec.)] underabiotic stress conditions (drought) or normal conditions across Sorghumaccessions.

Sorghum vigor related parameters under 100 mM NaCl and low temperature(8-10° C.)—Ten Sorghum varieties were grown in 3 repetitive plots, eachcontaining 17 plants, at a net house under semi-hydroponics conditions.Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: Sorghum seeds were sown intrays filled with a mix of vermiculite and peat in a 1:1 ratio.Following germination, the trays were transferred to the high salinitysolution (100 mM NaCl in addition to the Full Hogland solution), lowtemperature (8-10° C. in the presence of Full Hogland solution) or atNormal growth solution [Full Hogland solution at 20-24° C.].

Full Hogland solution consists of: KNO₃—0.808 grams/liter, MgSO₄—0.12grams/liter, KH₂ PO₄—0.172 grams/liter and 0.01% (volume/volume) of‘Super coratin’ micro elements (Iron-EDDHA[ethylenediamine-N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid)]—40.5 grams/liter;Mn—20.2 grams/liter; Zn 10.1 grams/liter; Co 1.5 grams/liter; and Mo 1.1grams/liter), solution's pH should be 6.5-6.8].

RNA extraction—All 10 selected Sorghum varieties were sampled per eachtreatment. Two tissues [leaves and roots] growing at 100 mM NaCl, lowtemperature (8-10° C.) or under Normal conditions (full Hogland at atemperature between 20-24° C.) were sampled and RNA was extracted usingTRIzol Reagent from Invitrogen [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World WideWeb (dot) invitrogen (dot) com/content (dot)cfm?pageid=469].

Experimental Results

10 different Sorghum varieties were grown and characterized for thefollowing parameters: “Leaf number Normal”=leaf number per plant undernormal conditions (average of five plants); “Plant Height Normal”=plantheight under normal conditions (average of five plants); “Root DW 100 mMNaCl”—root dry weight per plant under salinity conditions (average offive plants); The average for each of the measured parameter wascalculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Table 13below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptomsets and the average parameters was conducted (Table 14). Results werethen integrated to the database.

TABLE 13 Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions Plant Height PlantHeight Plant Height Leaf number Leaf number DW Root/ Seed ID T1 NaClT1 + 8 NaCl T1 + 15 NaCl T1 NaCl T1 + 8 Normal Plant NaCl 20 7.90014.200 21.800 3.000 4.167 0.05 22 9.500 16.267 23.167 3.133 4.5000.10447479 26 10.933 20.367 30.367 3.400 4.800 0.12370635 27 7.93313.333 22.833 3.067 4.600 0.06880519 28 9.700 15.900 23.700 3.333 4.5330.07568254 29 8.533 16.533 23.300 3.067 4.967 0.07517045 30 8.900 15.46722.467 3.067 4.600 0.13539542 31 10.367 18.933 26.833 3.267 4.9330.09546434 34 7.000 13.680 20.280 3.000 4.500 0.16491667 37 7.833 15.76723.567 3.067 4.567 0.13888278 Table 13: Provided are the measuredparameters of the Sorghum Accessions under normal conditions or highsalt conditions at the indicated time points. T1 (first day ofmeasurements); T1 + 8 (8 days following the first day); T1 + 15 (15 daysfollowing the first day). The exact conditions are detailed above in theexperiment description section.

TABLE 14 Correlation between the expression level of homologues ofselected genes in roots and the phenotypic performance under normal orabiotic stress conditions across Sorghum accessions Gene Name Exp. SetCorr. Vec. R BDL83_H58 root DW Root/Plant NaCl 0.897 BDL83_H58 root Leafnumber T1 NaCl −0.75 BDL83_H58 root Plant Height T1 NaCl −0.82 BDL83_H58root Plant Height T1 + 8 NaCl −0.9 BDL83_H58 root Plant Height T1 + 15NaCl −0.77 BDL83_H58 root Leaf number T1 Normal 0.779 Table 14. Providedare the correlations (R) between the expression levels of homologues ofselected genes in roots [Expression (Exp.) sets] and the phenotypicperformance [yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components(Correlation vector)] at the indicated time points under abiotic stressconditions (salinity) or normal conditions across Sorghum accessions.Corr. Vec. = correlation vector as described hereinabove (Table 13). T1(first day of measurements); T1 + 8 (8 days following the first day);T1 + 15 (15 days following the first day).

Example 5 Identification of Genes which Increase Yield, Biomass, GrowthRate, Vigor, Oil Content, Abiotic Stress Tolerance of Plants andNitrogen Use Efficieny

Based on the above described bioinformatics and experimental tools, thepresent inventors have identified 105 genes (89 distinct gene families)which have a major impact on yield, seed yield, oil yield, biomass,growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance, and/ornitrogen use efficiency when expression thereof is increased in plants.The identified genes, their curated polynucleotide and polypeptidesequences, as well as their updated sequences according to Genbankdatabase are summarized in Table 15, hereinbelow.

TABLE 15 Identified polynucleotides which affect plant yield, seedyield, oil yield, oil content, biomass, growth rate, vigor, abioticstress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant Serial GenePolynucleotide Polypeptide No Name Cluster Name Organism SEQ ID NO: SEQID NO: 1 BDL47 arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G38660 arabidopsis 1 106 2 BDL47arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G38660 arabidopsis 1 194 3 BDL48arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G25270 arabidopsis 2 107 4 BDL62arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G64390 arabidopsis 3 108 5 BDL75arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G55420 arabidopsis 4 109 6 BDL79arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G20010 arabidopsis 5 110 7 BDL81arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G13030 arabidopsis 6 111 8 BDL83arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G43670 arabidopsis 7 112 9 BDL117arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G33240 arabidopsis 8 113 10 BDL118arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G22125 arabidopsis 9 114 11 BDL126arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G59100 arabidopsis 10 115 12 BDL138arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G12180 arabidopsis 11 116 13 BDL140arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G02640 arabidopsis 12 117 14 BDL147arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G47930 arabidopsis 13 118 15 BDL149arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G15750 arabidopsis 14 119 16 BDL152arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G70420 arabidopsis 15 120 17 BDL153arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G47690 arabidopsis 16 121 18 BDL154arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G62940 arabidopsis 17 122 19 BDL155arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G11630 arabidopsis 18 123 20 BDL156arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G01570 arabidopsis 19 124 21 BDL157arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G14560 arabidopsis 20 125 22 BDL158arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G22030 arabidopsis 21 126 23 BDL160arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G28960 arabidopsis 22 127 24 BDL162arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G49360 arabidopsis 23 128 25 BDL163arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G51430 arabidopsis 24 129 26 BDL165arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G65010 arabidopsis 25 130 27 BDL167arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G79630 arabidopsis 26 131 28 BDL168arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G01910 arabidopsis 27 132 29 BDL169arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G19120 arabidopsis 28 133 30 BDL171arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G32320 arabidopsis 29 134 31 BDL173arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G36720 arabidopsis 30 135 32 BDL174arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G39580 arabidopsis 31 136 33 BDL176arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G10160 arabidopsis 32 137 34 BDL177arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G18610 arabidopsis 33 138 35 BDL181arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G12640 arabidopsis 34 139 36 BDL182arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G14605 arabidopsis 35 140 37 BDL183arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G15620 arabidopsis 36 141 38 BDL186arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G32560 arabidopsis 37 142 39 BDL187arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G35130 arabidopsis 38 143 40 BDL188arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G35560 arabidopsis 39 144 41 BDL189arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G05560 arabidopsis 40 145 42 BDL190arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G06690 arabidopsis 41 146 43 BDL192arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G09880 arabidopsis 42 147 44 BDL193arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G12950 arabidopsis 43 148 45 BDL194arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G16540 arabidopsis 44 149 46 BDL196arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G38180 arabidopsis 45 150 47 BDL197arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G39240 arabidopsis 46 151 48 BDL200arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G51470 arabidopsis 47 152 49 BDL201arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G58250 arabidopsis 48 153 50 BDL203arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G66440 arabidopsis 49 154 51 BDL219arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G36095 arabidopsis 50 155 52 BDL220arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G61170 arabidopsis 51 156 53 BDL221arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G75860 arabidopsis 52 157 54 BDL222arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G77885 arabidopsis 53 158 55 BDL223arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G37975 arabidopsis 54 159 56 BDL229arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G53830 arabidopsis 55 160 57 BDL230arabidopsis|gb154|ATHPEARA arabidopsis 56 161 58 BDL231arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G16350 arabidopsis 57 162 59 BDL235arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G38970 arabidopsis 58 163 60 BDL242arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G22740 arabidopsis 59 164 61 BDL243arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G31430 arabidopsis 60 165 62 BDL245arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G12690 arabidopsis 61 166 63 BDL247arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G29510 arabidopsis 62 167 64 BDL248arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G37360 arabidopsis 63 168 65 BDL250arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G37400 arabidopsis 64 169 66 BDL49arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G06180 arabidopsis 65 170 67 BDL58arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G22160 arabidopsis 66 171 68 BDL63arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G40550 arabidopsis 67 172 69 BDL64arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G38020 arabidopsis 68 173 70 BDL70cotton|gb164|AF150730 cotton 69 174 71 BDL85 arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G05340arabidopsis 70 175 72 BDL88 rice|gb157.2|AA754446 rice 71 176 73 BDL90rice|gb154|AK102950 rice 72 74 BDL94 rice|gb157.2|BE228242 rice 73 17775 BDL102 maize|gb164|AI600933 maize 74 178 76 BDL224arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G29780 arabidopsis 75 179 77 BDL225arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G39670 arabidopsis 76 180 78 BDL226arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G65470 arabidopsis 77 181 79 BDL227arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G56410 arabidopsis 78 182 80 BDL228castorbean|gb160|EE256201 castorbean 79 183 81 BDL232arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G56100 arabidopsis 80 184 82 BDL233arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G66360 arabidopsis 81 185 83 BDL234arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G05400 arabidopsis 82 186 84 BDL237arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G45510 arabidopsis 83 187 85 BDL238arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G04540 arabidopsis 84 188 86 BDL240arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G18480 arabidopsis 85 189 87 BDL241arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G20020 arabidopsis 86 190 88 BDL249arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G37370 arabidopsis 87 191 89 BDL251arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G08250 arabidopsis 88 192 90 BDL252arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G18650 arabidopsis 89 193 91 BDL79arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G20010 arabidopsis 90 110 92 BDL126arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G59100 arabidopsis 91 115 93 BDL153arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G47690 arabidopsis 92 195 94 BDL156arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G01570 arabidopsis 93 124 95 BDL167arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G79630 arabidopsis 94 196 96 BDL169arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G19120 arabidopsis 95 197 97 BDL171arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G32320 arabidopsis 96 134 98 BDL174arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G39580 arabidopsis 97 198 99 BDL187arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G35130 arabidopsis 98 143 100 BDL189arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G05560 arabidopsis 99 199 101 BDL197arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G39240 arabidopsis 100 200 102 BDL200arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G51470 arabidopsis 101 152 103 BDL231arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G16350 arabidopsis 102 162 104 BDL248arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G37360 arabidopsis 103 168 105 BDL70cotton|gb164|AF150730 cotton 104 201 106 BDL238arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G04540 arabidopsis 105 202 Table 15: Provided arethe identified genes, their annotation, organism and polynucleotide andpolypeptide sequence identifiers.

Example 6 Identification of Homologous Sequences that Increase SeedYield, Oil Yield, Growth Rate, Oil Content, Biomass, Vigor, ABSTResistance and/or Nue of a Plant

The concepts of orthology and paralogy have recently been applied tofunctional characterizations and classifications on the scale ofwhole-genome comparisons. Orthologs and paralogs constitute two majortypes of homologs: The first evolved from a common ancestor byspecialization, and the latter are related by duplication events. It isassumed that paralogs arising from ancient duplication events are likelyto have diverged in function while true orthologs are more likely toretain identical function over evolutionary time.

To identify putative orthologs of the genes affecting plant yield, oilyield, oil content, seed yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, abioticstress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency, all sequences werealigned using the BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool). Sequencessufficiently similar were tentatively grouped. These putative orthologswere further organized under a Phylogram—a branching diagram (tree)assumed to be a representation of the evolutionary relationships amongthe biological taxa. Putative ortholog groups were analyzed as to theiragreement with the phylogram and in cases of disagreements theseortholog groups were broken accordingly.

Expression data was analyzed and the EST libraries were classified usinga fixed vocabulary of custom terms such as developmental stages (e.g.,genes showing similar expression profile through development with upregulation at specific stage, such as at the seed filling stage) and/orplant organ (e.g., genes showing similar expression profile across theirorgans with up regulation at specific organs such as seed). Theannotations from all the ESTs clustered to a gene were analyzedstatistically by comparing their frequency in the cluster versus theirabundance in the database, allowing the construction of a numeric andgraphic expression profile of that gene, which is termed “digitalexpression”. The rationale of using these two complementary methods withmethods of phenotypic association studies of QTLs, SNPs and phenotypeexpression correlation is based on the assumption that true orthologsare likely to retain identical function over evolutionary time. Thesemethods provide different sets of indications on function similaritiesbetween two homologous genes, similarities in the sequencelevel—identical amino acids in the protein domains and similarity inexpression profiles.

Methods for searching and identifying homologues of yield and improvedagronomic traits such as ABS tolerance and NUE related polypeptides orpolynucleotides are well within the realm of the skilled artisan. Thesearch and identification of homologous genes involves the screening ofsequence information available, for example, in public databases such asthe DNA Database of Japan (DDBJ), Genbank, and the European MolecularBiology Laboratory Nucleic Acid Sequence Database (EMBL) or versionsthereof or the MIPS database. A number of different search algorithmshave been developed, including but not limited to the suite of programsreferred to as BLAST programs. There are five implementations of BLAST,three designed for nucleotide sequence queries (BLASTN, BLASTX, andTBLASTX) and two designed for protein sequence queries (BLASTP andTBLASTN) (Coulson, Trends in Biotechnology: 76-80, 1994; Birren et al.,Genome Analysis, I: 543, 1997). Such methods involve alignment andcomparison of sequences. The BLAST algorithm calculates percent sequenceidentity and performs a statistical analysis of the similarity betweenthe two sequences. The software for performing BLAST analysis ispublicly available through the National Centre for BiotechnologyInformation. Other such software or algorithms are GAP, BESTFIT, FASTAand TFASTA. GAP uses the algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (J. Mol.Biol. 48: 443-453, 1970) to find the alignment of two complete sequencesthat maximizes the number of matches and minimizes the number of gaps.

The homologous genes may belong to the same gene family. The analysis ofa gene family may be carried out using sequence similarity analysis. Toperform this analysis one may use standard programs for multiplealignments e.g. Clustal W. A neighbour-joining tree of the proteinshomologous to the genes in this invention may be used to provide anoverview of structural and ancestral relationships. Sequence identitymay be calculated using an alignment program as described above. It isexpected that other plants will carry a similar functional gene(ortholog) or a family of similar genes and those genes will provide thesame preferred phenotype as the genes presented here. Advantageously,these family members may be useful in the methods of the invention.Example of other plants are included here but not limited to, barley(Hordeum vulgare), Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), maize (Zea mays),cotton (Gossypium), Oilseed rape (Brassica napus), Rice (Oryza sativa),Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum), Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), Soybean(Glycine max), Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Tomato (Lycopersiconesculentum), Wheat (Triticum aestivum).

The above-mentioned analyses for sequence homology can be carried out ona full-length sequence, but may also be based on a comparison of certainregions such as conserved domains. The identification of such domains,would also be well within the realm of the person skilled in the art andwould involve, for example, a computer readable format of the nucleicacids of the present invention, the use of alignment software programsand the use of publicly available information on protein domains,conserved motifs and boxes. This information is available in the PRODOM(Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) biochem (dot) ucl(dot) ac (dot) uk/bsm/dbbrowser/protocol/prodomqry (dot) html), PIR(Hypertext Transfer Protocol://pir (dot) Georgetown (dot) edu/) or Pfam(Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) sanger (dot) ac(dot) uk/Software/Pfam/) database. Sequence analysis programs designedfor motif searching may be used for identification of fragments, regionsand conserved domains as mentioned above. Preferred computer programsinclude, but are not limited to, MEME, SIGNALSCAN, and GENESCAN.

A person skilled in the art may use the homologous sequences providedherein to find similar sequences in other species and other organisms.Homologues of a protein encompass, peptides, oligopeptides,polypeptides, proteins and enzymes having amino acid substitutions,deletions and/or insertions relative to the unmodified protein inquestion and having similar biological and functional activity as theunmodified protein from which they are derived. To produce suchhomologues, amino acids of the protein may be replaced by other aminoacids having similar properties (conservative changes, such as similarhydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, antigenicity, propensity to form orbreak a-helical structures or 3-sheet structures). Conservativesubstitution tables are well known in the art (see for example Creighton(1984) Proteins. W.H. Freeman and Company). Homologues of a nucleic acidencompass nucleic acids having nucleotide substitutions, deletionsand/or insertions relative to the unmodified nucleic acid in questionand having similar biological and functional activity as the unmodifiednucleic acid from which they are derived.

Polynucleotides and polypeptides with significant homology to theidentified genes described in Table 15 above have been identified fromthe databases using BLAST software using the Blastp and tBlastnalgorithms. The query nucleotide sequences were SEQ ID NOs: 1-106 andthe identified homologues are provided in Table 16, below. These genesare expected to increase plant yield, seed yield, oil yield, oilcontent, growth rate, biomass, vigor, ABST and/or NUE of a plant.

TABLE 16 Homologous polynucleotides and polypeptides Polynuc. Polypep.Homol. to SEQ ID NO: Gene Name Organism/Cluster name SEQ ID NO: SEQ IDNO: % Global identity Algor. 203 BDL47_H0 radish|gb164|EW717854 524 19485.15 tblastn 204 BDL48_H0 radish|gb164|EW735131 525 107 82.7 blastp 205BDL62_H0 canola|gb161|CD835773 526 108 94.5 blastp 206 BDL62_H1radish|gb164|EV543949 527 108 94.36 tblastn 207 BDL75_H0canola|gb161|EE485008 528 109 84.1 blastp 208 BDL83_H0apple|gb171|CN494551 529 112 86.8 blastp 209 BDL83_H1aquilegia|gb157.3|DR916286 530 112 85.9 blastp 210 BDL83_H2artemisia|gb164|EY037407 531 112 86.2 blastp 211 BDL83_H3b_juncea|gb164|EVGN00808312601672 532 112 91.7 blastp 212 BDL83_H4b_oleracea|gb161|AM387331 533 112 94.7 blastp 213 BDL83_H5b_rapa|gb162|AY161288 534 112 94.4 blastp 214 BDL83_H6banana|gb167|AF130251 535 112 85 blastp 215 BDL83_H7barley|gb157.3|BE420760 536 112 83.4 blastp 216 BDL83_H8barley|gb157.3|BG365169 537 112 82.1 blastp 217 BDL83_H9bean|gb167|CA896765 538 112 87.1 blastp 218 BDL83_H10bean|gb167|CB539815 539 112 87.4 blastp 219 BDL83_H11beet|gb162|BE590341 540 112 85.9 blastp 220 BDL83_H12brachypodium|gb169|BE2 541 112 85.4 blastp 221 BDL83_H13brachypodium|gb169|BE419504 542 112 82.7 blastp 222 BDL83_H14canola|gb161|BNU20179 543 112 94.13 tblastn 223 BDL83_H15canola|gb161|CD818253 544 112 94.4 blastp 224 BDL83_H16cassava|gb164|DV445162 545 112 88 blastp 225 BDL83_H17castorbean|gb160|EE256791 546 112 87.4 blastp 226 BDL83_H18centaurea|gb166|EH734375 547 112 87.7 blastp 227 BDL83_H19cichorium|gb171|EH680019 548 112 88 blastp 228 BDL83_H20citrus|gb166|CV885954 549 112 89.15 tblastn 229 BDL83_H21coffea|gb157.2|DV685589 550 112 87.1 tblastn 230 BDL83_H22cotton|gb164|AI725778 551 112 86.8 blastp 231 BDL83_H23cotton|gb164|CA993334 552 112 88.3 blastp 232 BDL83_H24cowpea|gb166|FF537383 553 112 87.7 blastp 233 BDL83_H25cynara|gb167|GE584395 554 112 84.16 tblastn 234 BDL83_H26dandelion|gb161|DY806919 555 112 87.1 blastp 235 BDL83_H27eucalyptus|gb166|CB967649 556 112 88 blastp 236 BDL83_H28fescue|gb161|DT696580 557 112 82.8 blastp 237 BDL83_H29ginger|gb164|DY345757 558 112 86.5 blastp 238 BDL83_H30grape|gb160|CD008185 559 112 86.8 blastp 239 BDL83_H31iceplant|gb164|CA833792 560 112 87.1 blastp 240 BDL83_H32ipomoea|gb157.2|CJ755528 561 112 86.8 blastp 241 BDL83_H33lettuce|gb157.2|AF162206 562 112 87.7 blastp 242 BDL83_H34leymus|gb166|EG375854 563 112 84 blastp 243 BDL83_H35lovegrass|gb167|DN481848 564 112 82.8 blastp 244 BDL83_H36maize|gb170|BG355384 565 112 83 blastp 245 BDL83_H37maize|gb170|LLAI603703 566 112 83.5 blastp 246 BDL83_H38medicago|gb157.2|AL386990 567 112 80.5 blastp 247 BDL83_H39medicago|gb157.2|AW695293 568 112 84.8 blastp 248 BDL83_H40papaya|gb165|EX248440 569 112 84.5 blastp 249 BDL83_H41peanut|gb171|EE126296 570 112 86.8 blastp 250 BDL83_H42peanut|gb171|ES752783 571 112 85.9 blastp 251 BDL83_H43pepper|gb171|CO907209 572 112 86.8 blastp 252 BDL83_H44pepper|gb171|GD064098 573 112 87.4 blastp 253 BDL83_H45physcomitrella|gb157|BJ157670 574 112 82.4 blastp 254 BDL83_H46physcomitrella|gb157|BJ171093 575 112 83.63 tblastn 255 BDL83_H47pine|gb157.2|AW010114 576 112 82.7 blastp 256 BDL83_H48pine|gb157.2|CO169305 577 112 86.2 blastp 257 BDL83_H49poplar|gb170|BI068614 578 112 88 blastp 258 BDL83_H50poplar|gb170|BU878945 579 112 86.05 tblastn 259 BDL83_H51potato|gb157.2|BF053889 580 112 86.2 blastp 260 BDL83_H52prunus|gb167|DW341878 581 112 88.9 blastp 261 BDL83_H53radish|gb164|EV537348 582 112 95 blastp 262 BDL83_H54radish|gb164|EV565372 583 112 94.7 blastp 263 BDL83_H55rice|gb170|OS01G64660 584 112 84.5 blastp 264 BDL83_H56rice|gb170|OS05G36270 585 112 83.3 blastp 265 BDL83_H57sorghum|gb161.crp|AW566083 586 112 84.8 blastp 266 BDL83_H58sorghum|gb161.crp|AW671091 587 112 83.6 blastp 267 BDL83_H59soybean|gb168|AL388391 588 112 81.3 blastp 268 BDL83_H60soybean|gb168|BE941320 589 112 86.5 blastp 269 BDL83_H61soybean|gb168|BF636881 590 112 87.1 blastp 270 BDL83_H62soybean|gb168|CD394856 591 112 86.2 blastp 271 BDL83_H63spikemoss|gb165|FE443631 592 112 83.9 blastp 272 BDL83_H64spruce|gb162|CO227794 593 112 87.4 blastp 273 BDL83_H65spruce|gb162|CO238226 594 112 83.3 blastp 274 BDL83_H66spurge|gb161|DV121804 595 112 87.4 blastp 275 BDL83_H67strawberry|gb164|DY671211 596 112 87.4 blastp 276 BDL83_H68sugarcane|gb157.3|BQ533620 597 112 85.4 blastp 277 BDL83_H69sunflower|gb162|BU672090 598 112 84.2 blastp 278 BDL83_H70sunflower|gb162|CD847711 599 112 87.7 blastp 279 BDL83_H71switchgrass|gb167|DN143181 600 112 84.8 blastp 280 BDL83_H72switchgrass|gb167|DN148413 601 112 82.4 tblastn 281 BDL83_H73tomato|gb164|AI486777 602 112 88.3 blastp 282 BDL83_H74tomato|gb164|BG123415 603 112 85.9 blastp 283 BDL83_H75triphysaria|gb164|EY166297 604 112 85.9 blastp 284 BDL83_H76triphysaria|gb164|EY169717 605 112 87.4 blastp 285 BDL83_H77wheat|gb164|BE213261 606 112 82.8 blastp 286 BDL83_H78wheat|gb164|BE418868 607 112 82.8 blastp 287 BDL83_H79wheat|gb164|BE500460 608 112 82.8 blastp 288 BDL118_H0castorbean|gb160|MDL29877M000477 609 114 81.4 blastp 289 BDL118_H1poplar|gb170|AI164922 610 114 81.3 blastp 290 BDL118_H2poplar|gb170|BI138300 611 114 82 blastp 291 BDL118_H3soybean|gb168|BE658051 612 114 80.1 blastp 292 BDL118_H4soybean|gb168|CB540069 613 114 80 blastp 293 BDL138_H0canola|gb161|CD817345 614 116 92.5 blastp 294 BDL138_H1radish|gb164|EV536083 615 116 91.8 blastp 295 BDL138_H2radish|gb164|EW725583 616 116 91.1 blastp 296 BDL147_H0thellungiella|gb167|BY818222 617 118 81.6 blastp 297 BDL149_H0b_rapa|gb162|DY009670 618 119 87.9 blastp 298 BDL149_H1canola|gb161|CD818601 619 119 88.5 blastp 299 BDL149_H2cowpea|gb166|FF400239 620 119 82.4 blastp 300 BDL154_H0b_rapa|gb162|EX046206 621 122 90.77 tblastn 301 BDL154_H1canola|gb161|CD841052 622 122 92.25 tblastn 302 BDL155_H0arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G24240 623 123 92.9 blastp 303 BDL155_H1arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G11750 624 123 91.7 blastp 304 BDL155_H2canola|gb161|EE462449 625 123 81.3 blastp 305 BDL155_H3radish|gb164|EV545009 626 123 80.34 tblastn 306 BDL155_H4radish|gb164|EV569478 627 123 80.4 blastp 307 BDL158_H0radish|gb164|EW715818 628 126 88.46 tblastn 308 BDL160_H0canola|gb161|EE418738 629 127 83.9 blastp 309 BDL160_H1radish|gb164|EV545765 630 127 85.1 blastp 310 BDL167_H0radish|gb164|EV535056 631 196 82.7 tblastn 311 BDL168_H0radish|gb164|EV525399 632 132 90.5 blastp 312 BDL171_H0arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G31580 633 134 84 blastp 313 BDL182_H0canola|gb161|CX188804 634 140 87.5 blastp 314 BDL183_H0arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G15630 635 141 81.6 blastp 315 BDL183_H1b_rapa|gb162|EE526726 636 141 83.7 blastp 316 BDL183_H2canola|gb161|CD811977 637 141 80 blastp 317 BDL183_H3canola|gb161|CN735162 638 141 83.7 blastp 318 BDL183_H4canola|gb161|CN828640 639 141 83.7 blastp 319 BDL183_H5radish|gb164|EW722612 640 141 83.2 blastp 320 BDL183_H6radish|gb164|EX753993 641 141 81.6 blastp 321 BDL183_H7thellungiella|gb167|BY824379 642 141 80 blastp 322 BDL190_H0b_oleracea|gb161|AM395197 643 146 84.49 tblastn 323 BDL190_H1canola|gb161|EE407003 644 146 87.2 blastp 324 BDL190_H2radish|gb164|EV547395 645 146 86.6 blastp 325 BDL190_H3thellungiella|gb167|BY827749 646 146 89.8 blastp 326 BDL192_H0canola|gb161|CD827541 647 147 80.37 tblastn 327 BDL201_H0b_juncea|gb164|EVGN00584109703185 648 153 81.8 blastp 328 BDL201_H1b_oleracea|gb161|DY014784 649 153 80.4 blastp 329 BDL201_H2b_oleracea|gb161|DY015288 650 153 82.2 blastp 330 BDL201_H3b_rapa|gb162|BQ791239 651 153 83.2 blastp 331 BDL201_H4canola|gb161|BQ704590 652 153 81.7 blastp 332 BDL201_H5canola|gb161|CD822183 653 153 80.8 blastp 333 BDL201_H6canola|gb161|CD838597 654 153 81.8 blastp 334 BDL201_H7radish|gb164|EV527287 655 153 81.6 blastp 335 BDL201_H8radish|gb164|EV534907 656 153 81.8 blastp 336 BDL201_H9radish|gb164|EV543313 657 153 81.3 blastp 337 BDL201_H10radish|gb164|EV565783 658 153 81.9 blastp 338 BDL201_H11thellungiella|gb167|BY814893 659 153 83.89 tblastn 339 BDL223_H0arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G54080 660 159 82.05 tblastn 340 BDL223_H1arabidopsis|gb165|AT3G54085 661 159 82.1 blastp 341 BDL223_H2b_juncea|gb164|EVGN01441114591370 662 159 96.15 tblastn 342 BDL223_H3b_juncea|gb164|EVGN05602102561055 663 159 85 blastp 343 BDL223_H4b_oleracea|gb161|EE534959 664 159 96.2 blastp 344 BDL223_H5b_oleracea|gb161|ES947677 665 159 94.9 blastp 345 BDL223_H6b_rapa|gb162|EE527700 666 159 96.2 blastp 346 BDL223_H7canola|gb161|CD812251 667 159 96.2 blastp 347 BDL223_H8canola|gb161|CN734091 668 159 96.15 tblastn 348 BDL223_H9canola|gb161|DY007214 669 159 96.15 tblastn 349 BDL223_H10canola|gb161|EG019597 670 159 97.4 blastp 350 BDL223_H11canola|gb161|ES992154 671 159 97.4 blastp 351 BDL223_H12canola|gb161|EV087632 672 159 97.4 blastp 352 BDL223_H13radish|gb164|EV524950 673 159 96.15 tblastn 353 BDL223_H14radish|gb164|EY899056 674 159 96.2 blastp 354 BDL229_H0b_rapa|gb162|EX066757 675 160 83.5 blastp 355 BDL229_H1radish|gb164|EW725388 676 160 82.59 tblastn 356 BDL231_H0arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G79470 677 162 84.5 blastp 357 BDL231_H1canola|gb161|CD826885 678 162 84.7 blastp 358 BDL231_H2canola|gb161|CD827559 679 162 95.42 tblastn 359 BDL242_H0radish|gb164|EV539529 680 164 85.9 blastp 360 BDL247_H0b_oleracea|gb161|DY026136 681 167 90.82 tblastn 361 BDL247_H1b_rapa|gb162|AY185359 682 167 91.1 blastp 362 BDL247_H2canola|gb161|CD838112 683 167 89.1 blastp 363 BDL247_H3canola|gb161|EE455228 684 167 91.1 blastp 364 BDL247_H4maize|gb170|LLEU940833 685 167 92.8 blastp 365 BDL247_H5radish|gb164|EV566311 686 167 92.6 blastp 366 BDL247_H6thellungiella|gb167|DN773706 687 167 93.08 tblastn 367 BDL248_H0arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G37340 688 168 80.6 blastp 368 BDL70_H0arabidopsis|gb165|AT4G25960 689 201 80.6 blastp 369 BDL70_H1poplar|gb170|CN192983 690 201 82.8 blastp 370 BDL70_H2soybean|gb168|BE822547 691 201 81.9 blastp 371 BDL70_H3soybean|gb168|CD415929 692 201 81.8 blastp 372 BDL85_H0b_oleracea|gb161|AM385973 693 175 83.3 blastp 373 BDL85_H1b_rapa|gb162|CV544456 694 175 83.3 blastp 374 BDL85_H2b_rapa|gb162|EE523194 695 175 84.7 blastp 375 BDL85_H3canola|gb161|CD813661 696 175 83.3 blastp 376 BDL85_H4canola|gb161|CD822271 697 175 84.7 blastp 377 BDL85_H5canola|gb161|CX280350 698 175 83.3 blastp 378 BDL85_H6radish|gb164|EV527759 699 175 82.2 blastp 379 BDL85_H7thellungiella|gb167|DN779034 700 175 83.6 blastp 380 BDL88_H0barley|gb157.3|BI950587 701 176 82.3 blastp 381 BDL88_H1barley|gb157.3|BI955547 702 176 88.6 blastp 382 BDL88_H2brachypodium|gb169|BE425841 703 176 82.7 blastp 383 BDL88_H3brachypodium|gb169|BM817094 704 176 90 blastp 384 BDL88_H4fescue|gb161|CK802755 705 176 88.7 blastp 385 BDL88_H5leymus|gb166|EG378145 706 176 83.2 blastp 386 BDL88_H6maize|gb170|AI622555 707 176 89.9 blastp 387 BDL88_H7maize|gb170|AI712236 708 176 89.2 blastp 388 BDL88_H8maize|gb170|AI855432 709 176 80.7 blastp 389 BDL88_H9pseudoroegneria|gb167|FF342352 710 176 88 blastp 390 BDL88_H10pseudoroegneria|gb167|FF342444 711 176 82.3 blastp 391 BDL88_H11rice|gb170|OS08G43320 712 176 84.5 blastp 392 BDL88_H12sorghum|gb161.crp|AW562977 713 176 81.4 blastp 393 BDL88_H13sorghum|gb161.crp|BE129901 714 176 91.1 blastp 394 BDL88_H14sugarcane|gb157.3|SCFMEMPRO 715 176 91.4 blastp 395 BDL88_H15switchgrass|gb167|DN144780 716 176 91.7 blastp 396 BDL88_H16switchgrass|gb167|FE629824 717 176 92 blastp 397 BDL88_H17wheat|gb164|BE406463 718 176 88 blastp 398 BDL88_H18wbeat|gb164|BE425841 719 176 82 blastp 399 BDL88_H19wheat|gb164|BF474328 720 176 81.2 blastp 400 BDL88_H20wheat|gb164|BQ484144 721 176 87.7 blastp 401 BDL88_H21wheat|gb164|CA599299 722 176 88 blastp 402 BDL94_H0rice|gb170|OS01G09220 723 177 96.7 blastp 403 BDL102_H0avocado|gb164|CK767108 724 178 80.69 tblastn 404 BDL102_H1banana|gb167|FL650176 725 178 82.8 blastp 405 BDL102_H2banana|gb167|FL657720 726 178 80.4 blastp 406 BDL102_H3banana|gb167|FL658383 727 178 83.4 blastp 407 BDL102_H4barley|gb157.3|BE215743 728 178 84.83 tblastn 408 BDL102_H5barley|gb157.3|BE411917 729 178 85.2 blastp 409 BDL102_H6barley|gb157.3|BF627967 730 178 82.76 tblastn 410 BDL102_H7brachypodium|gb169|BE398478 731 178 83.7 blastp 411 BDL102_H8brachypodium|gb169|BE399017 732 178 87.6 blastp 412 BDL102_H9brachypodium|gb169|BE423566 733 178 85.5 blastp 413 BDL102_H10cenchrus|gb166|EB655509 734 178 89 blastp 414 BDL102_H11cichorium|gb171|DT211967 735 178 80.1 blastp 415 BDL102_H12cichorium|gb171|EH700664 736 178 80 blastp 416 BDL102_H13citrus|gb166|BE208879 737 178 80 blastp 417 BDL102_H14clover|gb162|BB906663 738 178 80 blastp 418 BDL102_H15cowpea|gb166|FC462243 739 178 80.7 blastp 419 BDL102_H16dandelion|gb161|DY813750 740 178 80.7 blastp 420 BDL102_H17fescue|gb161|DT685902 741 178 85.6 blastp 421 BDL102_H18ginger|gb164|DY369602 742 178 80.7 blastp 422 BDL102_H19ipomoea|gb157.2|BJ557023 743 178 80 tblastn 423 BDL102_H20ipomoea|gb157.2|BU690707 744 178 80 tblastn 424 BDL102_H21lettuce|gb157.2|DW044786 745 178 80 blastp 425 BDL102_H22lettuce|gb157.2|DW050757 746 178 80 tblastn 426 BDL102_H23lettuce|gb157.2|DW108809 747 178 81.38 tblastn 427 BDL102_H24lettuce|gb157.2|DW108810 748 178 80 tblastn 428 BDL102_H25liquorice|gb171|FS238664 749 178 80.7 blastp 429 BDL102_H26liquorice|gb171|FS241892 750 178 80 tblastn 430 BDL102_H27liriodendron|gb166|CK766596 751 178 83.4 blastp 431 BDL102_H28lotus|gb157.2|AW720301 752 178 82.1 blastp 432 BDL102_H29lotus|gb157.2|CN825142 753 178 81.5 blastp 433 BDL102_H30lovegrass|gb167|EH188388 754 178 88.97 tblastn 434 BDL102_H31maize|gb170|AI391795 755 178 95.2 blastp 435 BDL102_H32maize|gb170|LLBE510254 756 178 95.2 blastp 436 BDL102_H33melon|gb165|DV632852 757 178 80 tblastn 437 BDL102_H34millet|gb161|CD725312 758 178 85.7 blastp 438 BDL102_H35nuphar|gb166|CV003178 759 178 81.4 blastp 439 BDL102_H36oat|gb164|CN815719 760 178 91.03 tblastn 440 BDL102_H37oil_palm|gb166|EL681098 761 178 86.21 tblastn 441 BDL102_H38oil_palm|gb166|EL682630 762 178 84.1 blastp 442 BDL102_H39oil_palm|gb166|EL684119 763 178 82.1 blastp 443 BDL102_H40onion|gb162|CF446214 764 178 80.4 blastp 444 BDL102_H41papaya|gb165|EX258155 765 178 80.7 blastp 445 BDL102_H42pineapple|gb157.2|DT336701 766 178 84.8 blastp 446 BDL102_H43pineapple|gb157.2|DT338401 767 178 84.8 blastp 447 BDL102_H44poppy|gb166|FE964559 768 178 80 tblastn 448 BDL102_H45rice|gb170|OS03G31090 769 178 93.8 blastp 449 BDL102_H46rye|gb164|BE637001 770 178 85.2 blastp 450 BDL102_H47sorghum|gb161.crp|AI673920 771 178 96.6 blastp 451 BDL102_H48sorghum|gb161.crp|AW747023 772 178 83.3 blastp 452 BDL102_H49soybean|gb168|AA661036 773 178 80 blastp 453 BDL102_H50soybean|gb168|AW720301 774 178 80 tblastn 454 BDL102_H51sugarcane|gb157.3|CA076952 775 178 96.6 blastp 455 BDL102_H52sugarcane|gb157.3|CA087422 776 178 96.6 blastp 456 BDL102_H53sugarcane|gb157.3|CA103720 777 178 97.2 blastp 457 BDL102_H54sugarcane|gb157.3|CA113942 778 178 84.25 tblastn 458 BDL102_H55sugarcane|gb157.3|CA114406 779 178 97.2 blastp 459 BDL102_H56sugarcane|gb157.3|CA116867 780 178 87.6 blastp 460 BDL102_H57sugarcane|gb157.3|CA119956 781 178 90.34 tblastn 461 BDL102_H58sugarcane|gb157.3 |CA128680 782 178 86.9 blastp 462 BDL102_H59sugarcane|gb157.3|CA139681 783 178 84.3 blastp 463 BDL102_H60sugarcane|gb157.3|CA151882 784 178 93.1 tblastn 464 BDL102_H61sugarcane|gb157.3|CA153401 785 178 96.6 blastp 465 BDL102_H62sugarcane|gb157.3|CA193794 786 178 97.2 blastp 466 BDL102_H63sugarcane|gb157.3|CA215946 787 178 80 blastp 467 BDL102_H64sugarcane|gb157.3|CA235573 788 178 80.3 blastp 468 BDL102_H65sugarcane|gb157.3|CA241742 789 178 82.76 tblastn 469 BDL102_H66sugarcane|gb157.3|CA289186 790 178 95.2 blastp 470 BDL102_H67sugarcane|gb157.3|CF571967 791 178 93.79 tblastn 471 BDL102_H68sugarcane|gb157.3|CF574520 792 178 97.2 blastp 472 BDL102_H69sunflower|gb162|CD848588 793 178 80 blastp 473 BDL102_H70sunflower|gb162|CD850971 794 178 80.7 blastp 474 BDL102_H71switchgrass|gb167|DN142384 795 178 95.9 blastp 475 BDL102_H72switchgrass|gb167|FE598349 796 178 96.6 blastp 476 BDL102_H73switchgrass|gb167|FE608943 797 178 96.6 blastp 477 BDL102_H74switchgrass|gb167|FE642870 798 178 96.6 blastp 478 BDL102_H75switchgrass|gb167|FL710664 799 178 95.2 blastp 479 BDL102_H76tea|gb171|FE861343 800 178 80.14 tblastn 480 BDL102_H77walnuts|gb166|CV195103 801 178 80.7 blastp 481 BDL102_H78walnuts|gb166|CV196374 802 178 80.7 blastp 482 BDL102_H79wheat|gb164|BE398202 803 178 85.2 blastp 483 BDL102_H80wheat|gb164|BE406254 804 178 85.2 blastp 484 BDL102_H81wheat|gb164|BE414893 805 178 85.2 blastp 485 BDL102_H82wheat|gb164|CA485952 806 178 96.6 blastp 486 BDL102_H83wheat|gb164|CA486424 807 178 93.8 blastp 487 BDL226_H0canola|gb161|CD835072 808 181 89.5 blastp 488 BDL226_H1radish|gb164|EV568139 809 181 91.7 blastp 489 BDL233_H0radish|gb164|EV549343 810 185 84.5 blastp 490 BDL237_H0arabidopsis|gb165|AT2G44890 811 187 86.3 blastp 491 BDL238_H0arabidopsis|gb165|AT1G32763 812 202 81.5 blastp 492 BDL240_H0castorbean|gb160|MDL30174M008707 813 189 82.4 blastp 493 BDL240_H1cotton|gb164|BG446934 814 189 81.4 blastp 494 BDL240_H2soybean|gb168|AW32969 3 815 189 80.7 blastp 495 BDL240_H3soybean|gb168|BE329627 816 189 80.1 blastp 496 BDL241_H0canola|gb161|CN825973 817 190 85.3 blastp 497 BDL249_H0radish|gb164|EW735252 818 191 86.7 blastp 498 BDL251_H0arabidopsis|gb165|AT5G23190 819 192 80.07 tblastn 499 BDL252_H0apple|gb171|CN489978 820 193 80.9 blastp 500 BDL252_H1apple|gb171|CN883406 821 193 80.9 blastp 501 BDL252_H2b_rapa|gb162|EX036871 822 193 91 blastp 502 BDL252_H3cacao|gb167|CU476642 823 193 84.3 blastp 503 BDL252_H4canola|gb161|CN732395 824 193 90.6 blastp 504 BDL252_H5canola|gb161|ES900668 825 193 86.2 blastp 505 BDL252_H6castorbean|gb160|MDL29726M003996 826 193 81.4 blastp 506 BDL252_H7citrus|gb166|CB417408 827 193 82.8 blastp 507 BDL252_H8cotton|gb164|AI725830 828 193 82.8 blastp 508 BDL252_H9cotton|gb164|CO094656 829 193 82.5 blastp 509 BDL252_H10cowpea|gb166|FC458375 830 193 80.5 blastp 510 BDL252_H11grape|gb160|CB920145 831 193 80.5 blastp 511 BDL252_H12ipomoea|gb157.2|AU223826 832 193 80.2 blastp 512 BDL252_H13lettuce|gb157.2|DW116753 833 193 80.22 tblastn 513 BDL252_H14medicago|gb157.2|AL371996 834 193 80.9 blastp 514 BDL252_H15peach|gb157.2|BU039377 835 193 82.4 blastp 515 BDL252_H16poplar|gb170|BU816161 836 193 80.7 blastp 516 BDL252_H17prunus|gb167|BU039377 837 193 82.4 blastp 517 BDL252_H18radish|gb164|EV535608 838 193 92.1 blastp 518 BDL252_H19radish|gb164|EW723334 839 193 91.8 blastp 519 BDL252_H20soybean|gb168|BF636462 840 193 80.1 blastp 520 BDL252_H21soybean|gb168|BU546186 841 193 82.4 blastp 521 BDL252_H22soybean|gb168|CD390334 842 193 82.4 blastp 522 BDL252_H23strawberry|gb164|CX661379 843 193 82 blastp 523 BDL252_H24thellungiella|gb167|BY812142 844 193 92.1 blastp Table 16: Provided arepolynucleotides and polypeptides which are homologous to the identifiedpolynucleotides or polypeptides of Table 15. Homol. = homologue; Algor.= Algorithm;

Example 7 Gene Cloning and Generation of Binary Vectors for PlantExpression

To validate their role in improving oil content, plant yield, seedyield, biomass, growth rate, ABST, NUE and/or vigor, selected genes wereover-expressed in plants, as follows.

Cloning Strategy

Genes listed in Examples 5 and 6 hereinabove were cloned into binaryvectors for the generation of transgenic plants. For cloning, thefull-length open reading frame (ORF) was first identified. In case ofORF-EST clusters and in some cases already published mRNA sequences wereanalyzed to identify the entire open reading frame by comparing theresults of several translation algorithms to known proteins from otherplant species. To clone the full-length cDNAs, reverse transcription(RT) followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR; RT-PCR) was performedon total RNA extracted from leaves, flowers, siliques or other planttissues, growing under normal conditions. Total RNA was extracted asdescribed in Example 2 above. Production of cDNA and PCR amplificationwas performed using standard protocols described elsewhere (Sambrook J.,E. F. Fritsch, and T. Maniatis. 1989. Molecular Cloning. A LaboratoryManual., 2nd Ed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York.) whichare well known to those skilled in the art. PCR products were purifiedusing PCR purification kit (Qiagen). In case where the entire codingsequence was not found, RACE kit from Ambion, Clontech or Invitrogen(RACE=R apid A ccess to cDNA E nds) was used to access the full cDNAtranscript of the gene from the RNA samples described above. The RACEprocedure was performed for the genes BDL197 (SEQ ID NO:46), BDL156 (SEQID NO:19), BDL169 (SEQ ID NO:28), BDL189 (SEQ ID NO:40), BDL200 (SEQ IDNO:47), BDL79 (SEQ ID NO:5), BDL231 (SEQ ID NO:57), BDL238 (SEQ IDNO:84) and BDL248 (SEQ ID NO:103) using the primers sequences listed inTable 17, below. RACE products were cloned into high copy vectorfollowed by sequencing or directly sequenced. RACE products weresequenced as described hereinbelow for the genes specified in Table 17.

The information from the RACE procedure was used for cloning of the fulllength ORF of the corresponding genes.

TABLE 17 RACE primers used for sequencing of the identified genes of the invention High copy plasmid used for cloningGene Primers used for of RACE   Name  amplification products BDL197_BDL197_NGSP1_R2 TopoTA 5′Race (SEQ ID NO: 934) (CGCCTGAAGCTTCTCCGAGAAC)BDL156_ BDL156_NGSP1_R 5′Race (SEQ ID NO: 937) (ACGGTGTTTCCAGAATTTCGCAG)BDL156_ BDL156_NGSP2_F TopoTA 3′Race (SEQ ID NO: 938)(CTGAATGTGACTGGGATATGTCGG) BDL169_ BDL169_NGSP1_R 5′Race(SEQ ID NO: 939) (TGCACTGGAGCGTGTAGGGACAG) BDL169_ BDL169_NGSP1_F 3′Race(SEQ ID NO: 940) (GGCAGAAACTGTTTTATGGAAATGG) BDL189_ BDL189_NGSP1_RTopoTA 5′Race (SEQ ID NO: 941) (TTCTGTCCCTCGACCAAGGTTG) BDL189_BDL189_GSP2_F 3′Race (SEQ ID NO: 942) (CAGTCAATCTTCTTAGCATCGCTGAG)BDL200_ BDL200_NGSP_Rb TopoTA 5′Race (SEQ ID NO: 943)(CCAATGCCAATACGATGGTCGG) BDL200_ BDL200_NGSP2_F 3′Race (SEQ ID NO: 944)(GAGCTTTGGAGATAAGATTGGTGCAG) BDL79_ BDL79_GSP1_R TopoTA 5′Race(SEQ ID NO: 945) (GTATCACTCGAGGCACCATTGGG) BDL231_ BDL231 NGSP R TopoTA3′Race (SEQ ID NO: 946) (ATGTGGGATTCCGAGACAGTGTCC) BDL238_ BDL238 NGSP R5′Race (SEQ ID NO: 947) (TTTACCGTCCCCAAACGTTGCCG) BDL238_ BDL238 NGSP F3′Race (SEQ ID NO: 948) (CTCATCCGGACGATGTCTTACTTCTTCTCC) BDL248_BDL248 NGSP R 5′Race (SEQ ID NO: 949) (GAGGTGACCGATCACTGGTAACGC) BDL215_BDL215_NGSP1_R 5′Race (SEQ ID NO: 950) (TGGCTTTGAAAACGTAACATGCC) BDL215_BDL215_NGSP2_F TopoTA 3′Race (SEQ ID NO: 951) (TATTGGGATTTTCGGATCGATGG)Table 17. Provided are the PCR primers used for RACE sequencing. Fwd =forward primer; Rev = reverse primer;

In case genomic DNA was cloned, as in the case of BDL90 and BDL94 thegenes were amplified by direct PCR on genomic DNA extracted from leaftissue using the DNAeasy kit (Qiagen Cat. No. 69104).

Usually, 2 sets of primers were synthesized for the amplification ofeach gene from a cDNA or a genomic sequence; an external set of primersand an internal set (nested PCR primers). When needed (e.g., when thefirst PCR reaction did not result in a satisfactory product forsequencing), an additional primer (or two) of the nested PCR primerswere used. Table 18 below provides primers used for cloning of selectedgenes.

TABLE 18 The PCR primers used for cloning the genes  of the inventionRe- stric- tion- Enzymes Gene used  for Name cloningPrimers used for amplification BDL102 SalI, BDL102_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 952) XbaI AATGTCGACTACCTGCCTTTCTCTCGTCCBDL102_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 953) AAAGTCGACACTCTACCTGCCTTTCTCTCGBDL102_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 954) ATTCTAGACTATGTAGCCATCTCAACAATCAAACBDL102_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 955) ATTCTAGAGGTTTTGATAAATAGGTACTCAGG BDL117BDL117_EF_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 956) CCCCGGGTCTCGGAGGTATCTTATTCCAGBDL117_ER_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 957) CCCCGGGATGCCACACTTAAGGCCAAG BDL118 SmaI, BDL118_NF_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 958) SmaI TCCCGGGTCTGGGTCTACTTTTGATTTGAGBDL118_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 959) TCCCGGGTGAAGCAGAAGTTTCGATTTAAG BDL138SalI,  BDL138_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 960) XbaIAAAGTCGACCGAATCGTAATTGTTGAAGAGAG BDL138_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 961)ATTGTCGACTTTAAGGAGAAGAGTCGCAGTC BDL138_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 962)ATTCTAGATTAGAGAGTGGTTGATAACGCAGAG BDL138_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 963)ACTCTAGACTACCTGTCACAATTTTCTAAAACAC BDL140 XbaI, BDL140_NF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 964) SacI TATCTAGATTGAGAATGAACTCAGTGTGTATCBDL140_EF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 965) AATCTAGAAACTAAACATTGAGAATGAACTCAGBDL140_NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 966) TGAGCTCTTAAGTCATTTAGTTTGGATCAACAACBDL140_ER_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 967) CGAGCTCAGACCATGCATTTAAGGATCAC BDL147SalI,  BDL147_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 968) XbaITTAGTCGACCACAGTAACCATGTCCGTCTC BDL147_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 969)TATCTAGAGTGCTGCTTACTCGCTGTTTC BDL149 SalI, BDL149_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 970) XbaI AAAGTCGACCTCAAACCCAAGAACCTCATCBDL149_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 971) ATTCTAGATGCAATAGTAGTAGCAGTGAACC BDL152XbaI,  BDL152_NF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 972) SacITATCTAGATTCAGACAAAAACAGAGAGAAACT BDL152_NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 973)TGAGCTCCTAAGATCGGTTTAATCAATAGGG BDL153 SalI, BDL153_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 974) SmaI AAAGTCGACAACAGCTTCGGTTTAAGAGTTCBDL153_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 975) TCCCGGGTCTACATTACGGCATACGGC BDL154 SalI, BDL154_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 976) SacI TTAGTCGACTTAAAAATGGAGAGTCAAAAGCBDL154_NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 977) TGAGCTCCTACTACTTCTTGTTGATGCTGAGG BDL155SalI,  BDL155_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 978) XbaI AATGTCGACTCCTCTTGCGGAGAGATGCBDL155_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 979) ATTCTAGATCTCCTTTTGAGAGAGTGCAAC BDL156SalI,  BDL156_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 980) XbaI AATGTCGACTCGTCGTCTTCCTCATTTCGBDL156_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 981) ATTCTAGACTAATACGATTGGTAACAAGAAAACG BDL157SalI,  BDL157_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 982) XbaIATTGTCGACTTTCAATAAGAAATCTGCGTCC BDL157_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 983)AAAGTCGACGAATCTGCTTTTAAGCTTCTCG BDL157_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 984)ATTCTAGACTAAAGAGAGTGAAGGAACAAAGACC BDL157_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 985)ATTCTAGACTATTTTCTTCTGTCTTCTGTGTCTTC BDL158BDL158_EF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 986) AATCTAGACCTCACTTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTTCBDL158_ER_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 987) CCCCGGGAGCCTAAAGCCTAACCCAAC BDL160 SalI, BDL160_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 988) XbaI AAAGTCGACTGATCTACACAGAATCCATTTCCBDL160_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 989) AATCTAGATCATTCAGCCATTCACATTTTAGG BDL162SalI,  BDL162_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 990) XbaITTAGTCGACCCTAATAATGGCTTGCAGAGC BDL162_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 991)TATCTAGAAAATCTTGAGACTAAATCAAGCTG BDL167 SalI, BDL167_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 992) XbaI AAAGTCGACGCAAGAAAGGGACTAACCAAGBDL167_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 993) ACTCTAGACTATGTCGGCATTAACTTAGAATCAC BDL168XbaI,  BDL168_NF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 994) SmaIAATCTAGACTTGCTTCAAGATTCGAGTGAG BDL168_EF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 995)AATCTAGAATTAACCACCATTTCTGTGAAG BDL168_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 996)TCCCGGGCTACCTTCCTTCTTCTTCACTTCC BDL168_ER_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 997)TCCCGGGTCCTAAAAGTCAGTCACCTTCTG BDL169 SalI, BDL169_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 998) XbaI AAAGTCGACGAAGGTGAAGTGATGGATTCTGBDL169_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 999) AATGTCGACTGTTACCGATAAGAAGGTGAAGBDL169_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1000) ATTCTAGACTAACAGCTTCAACGTAATTTGGTGBDL169_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1001) ATTCTAGATCAACGTCATTTTGTGCATATC BDL173XbaI,  BDL173_EF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1002) SmaIATTCTAGATTTTCCCGAATCTATTCATCAC BDL173_ER_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1003)CCCCGGGAACGCTTCACCCTTTAATCC BDL174 SalI, BDL174_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1004) SacI AAAGTCGACCCGAGGAAGATGACGACACBDL174_NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1005) TGAGCTCCTAGTTTCAAGCAAGAGTGATTCC BDL176SmaI,  BDL176_NF_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1006) SmaI TCCCGGGTATTGAGCAGCCGTGAAATCBDL176_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1007) TCCCGGGTGGACCAAAGAATCAAATAGTAAC BDL177SalI,  BDL177_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1008) SacIAATGTCGACTCAGGATCTATGGGCAAGTC BDL177_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1009)AAAGTCGACGCTTGTGATCAGGATCTATGG BDL177_NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1010)TGAGCTCCTAAACAGCTTTCTTCTACTCTTCATC BDL177_ER_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1011)CGAGCTCACAGAAAACAAAAGAAACTAGGC BDL181 SalI, BDL181_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1012) SacI AAAGTCGACGCGATAGATCTGACGAATGCBDL181 NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1013) TGAGCTCCTAGATTTCATACTCAGGAAGCCAC BDL182SalI,  BDL182_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1014) SacIAACGTCGACTCTACCATCGACAACGAGAAAC BDL182_NR_SacI_new(SEQ ID NO: 1015)TGAGCTCCTACATTCACAACAAACCACCACTAC BDL183 SalI, BDL183_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1016) XbaI AATGTCGACTTATTTTGATCTTCCTCACTTCTGBDL183_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1017) AAAGTCGACGATCAATCTTTGTTATCTCTCACTCBDL183_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1018) ATTCTAGACTAATCACACAAAACGACAAGAACAGBDL183_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1019) ACTCTAGAACGATGTGATAAAACATTAGAAGC BDL186SalI,  BDL186_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1020) XbaIAAAGTCGACCGAAGTGAAAGTCGTGATGG BDL186_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1021)AAAGTCGACACGCAAACGTGATCCTAAAC BDL186_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1022)ATTCTAGACTCAAGGGGACGAGATATCAG BDL186_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1023)ACTCTAGAAGGTAGAGAGCATCAAGGAAGC BDL187 SalI, BDL187_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1024) SmaI ATAGTCGACATTCTTTCAGTTTTCCGGTGBDL187_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1025) AAAGTCGACGCTTGAATTCTTTCAGTTTTCCBDL187_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1026) TCCCGGGCTATTTTCACCAGTAATTTCCACACBDL187_ER_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1027) TCCCGGGTTACTTTAGCCACAATCTGTGTTTTC BDL188XbaI,  BDL188_NF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1028) SmaI AATCTAGAATTTTCATTTGTTCGCTTCGBDL188_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1029) TCCCGGGCTAACAGTAGGTAATTTTGACATCCAGBDL189 BDL189_NF_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1030) ACCCGGGCATTGCCTGTTGGCTTCGBDL189_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1031) ACCCGGGTTACAATACAATTGTTTAATTCGAGG BDL190SalI,  BDL190_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1032) XbaITTAGTCGACAAAATAATGGCAGCTTTGGC BDL190_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1033)TTAGTCGACTCTCGTCACATATCTTCATCGAC BDL190_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1034)TATCTAGACTACTAGACAAATTTGTTGATCAATTC BDL190_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1035)TATCTAGACTAAAGAGAGAACTAGACAAATTTGTTG BDL192 SalI, BDL192_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1036) XbaI ATTGTCGACTTTACGAAATACGCCGAATCBDL192_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1037) AATGTCGACTTCGAAACCCTAACAAAAGCBDL192_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1038) ACTCTAGAATCTGCATAGCAGTTAGAACAAGBDL192_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1039) ATTCTAGAGAAAGGTCCTCATTCATAATCC BDL193XbaI,  BDL193_EF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1040) SacIAATCTAGACTTCATATTCAAATCTCCTCTCC BDL193_ER_SacI (SEQ ID NO: 1041)CGAGCTCATCACAAACAAACCTAAGAGGC BDL194 EcoRV, BDL194_NF_EcoRV(SEQ ID NO: 1042) EcoRV AAGATATCAGCCATTGTTCTTCATCATCTCBDL194_NR_EcoRV(SEQ ID NO: 1043) ACGATATCCTAACAGGGTTTTCAGTGCTGTG BDL196SalI,  BDL196_NF_salI(SEQ ID NO: 1044) XbaITTAGTCGACAAGACATGAAGTTCATGACACTAATG BDL196_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1045)TTAGTCGACAACTGAAACAAAAGAAGAGTCATC BDL196_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1046)TATCTAGATTATGAGCTTTAACAACTAGTATAA GGAAC BDL196_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1047)TATCTAGACACCACAATTTTAAGCTTCAAC BDL197 SalI, BDL197_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1048) XbaI AAAGTCGACTGTTCTTGTTCTTCACGATGAGBDL197_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1049) AAAGTCGACTCTAAATCCTATGTTCTTGTTCTTCBDL197_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1050) AATTCTAGAGGTTCAAAATACGTAACACATTGBDL197_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1051) AACTCTAGAACCATATTAGGTTCAAAATACGTAACBDL201 SalI,  BDL201_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1052) XbaIAAAGTCGACCGATCAACAGACTCTAATCAGC BDL201_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1053)ATTCTAGATTAGTTCTATACTGCAGATTCTTGGG BDL203 SalI, BDL203_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1054) XbaI AATGTCGACTTCTCTCTGTTCTTGCACTCGBDL203_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1055) AAAGTCGACCTTCTTCTTCTTTTCTCAATCTTTCBDL203_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1056) ATTCTAGATCTGTATCATTAAAACTGAGGAAGBDL203_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1057) ATTCTAGAGTGGCGAGACAACATTTCTAC BDL220SalI,  BDL220_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1058) XbaIAAAGTCGACCTCTCTCTCTCTAATGGGTAATTG BDL220_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1059)AATGTCGACTCACCACACAACACAACCAAG BDL220_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1060)ACTCTAGAAATCCAACGTCAAATGAGAAG BDL220_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1061)AAAGTCGACCTCTCTCTCTCTAATGGGTAATTG BDL221 SalI, BDL221_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1062) XbaI AATGTCGACTTGGATCAGAGAAAATATGTCGBDL221_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1063) ATAGTCGACCTTGAATCTGAAGCTAATCTTGGBDL221_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1064) ATTCTAGATTAGCATTAGAACGGGACAGTATAAGBDL221_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1065) ACTCTAGATCAAAGAATCGAGCATTAGAACGG BDL222SalI,  BDL222_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1066) XbaIAAAGTCGACCTAAACCGGTAAAAGATGTCG BDL222_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1067)AACGTCGACACTTTTGTTTTGCCTTTCCTC BDL222_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1068)ATTCTAGATCTTCTTCATCACTCAATCGC BDL222_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1069)ATTCTAGACTGTGGTATTTAGGGAATACATCC BDL223 SalI, BDL223_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1070) XbaI AAAGTCGACCACAGAGAAATCATGGGGTTCBDL223_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1071) AACGTCGACAGATATCGTTGGCTTCGTCTCBDL223_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1072) ATTCTAGATTAGGTTTGATCATTTTAACCAGAGBDL223_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1073) ATTCTAGACTATGCAGAAATGTTTGGATTGAG BDL224XbaI,  BDL224_NF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1074) SmaIAATCTAGACCACAAAATTCGTCAAAGCTC BDL224_EF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1075)ATTCTAGATTTTCAAACCACAAAATTCGTC BDL224_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1076)CCCCGGGATCCAACCAATCCCTAAAATG BDL224_ER_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1077)CCCCGGGATCAGCCACTTCTACTCTCAATTC BDL225 SalI, BDL225_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1078) XbaI AATGTCGACTCCTTGTGATTCATTATTTTGCBDL225_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1079) AAAGTCGACCAACATCTCCTCCAAAACATTCBDL225_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1080) ACTCTAGATTAGCAAGAAGAAAAGAAGTGCAGBDL225_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1081) ATTCTAGATTAGTAGTTTATACAAGGTGCGGAGACBDL226 EcoRV,  BDL226_NF_EcoRV(SEQ ID NO: 1082) EcoRVAAGATATCGAAACTGGATCTGGGTTTATCC BDL226_NR_EcoRV(SEQ ID NO: 1083)ATGATATCCTAAACTAATCAAACATGGCACATAC BDL227BDL227_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1084) AAAGTCGACAGAGTTAAGTCAATCACCAAACCBDL227_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1085) TCCCGGGTTACCATCAAGTTTTCTTGCTGAAG BDL228SalI,  BDL228_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1086) XbaIAAAGTCGACCCAACACTATATCATGGCTACTATC BDL228_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1087)ATTCTAGACTAACCTCACTTGATGCTCTTGC BDL229 SalI, BDL229_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1088) XbaI TATCTAGAGCTAAACAAAATCCGGAGATAGBDL229_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1089) TATCTAGACAGTCACTCCATAACTATGATCAAACBDL229_F_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1090) TTAGTCGACCTCATTAATGGAAGTTTCAACATCBDL229_F_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1091) TTAGTCGACCTCATTAATGGAAGTTTCAACATC BDL230SmaI,  BDL230_NF_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1092) SmaITCCCGGGTAAGTTTGTGAGATGGAATTAGTG BDL230_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1093)TCCCGGGCTAATTGGTTGGTTACAAGATGC BDL231 SalI, BDL231_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1094) XbaI AATGTCGACTGGACTGAAGATGTCAGGATTCBDL231_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1095) ATAGTCGACATTTCTCTCTATTGGCATCGACBDL231_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1096) AATTCTAGACTAAACTGGGGAAAGCTAAAACGBDL231_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1097) AATTCTAGATCATAACATAAGAAAGTAAACTGGGGBDL232 XbaI,  BDL232_NF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1098) SacIAATCTAGACACACCCCTCAAAGAAATATAAC BDL232_EF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1099)AATCTAGAAAGAAATTCACACCCCTCAAAG BDL232_NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1100)TGAGCTCCTAAAGGTGGAGTAATTAGAAGCG BDL232_ER_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1101)TGAGCTCTGGTGAAGTGTTAAGTAATTGTCG BDL233 SalI, BDL233_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1102) SacI AAAGTCGACGAAAGAGAGAAAATGGAGAATATGBDL233_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1103) AAAGTCGACCGATCTAAAGAAAGAGAGAAAATGBDL233_NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1104) TGAGCTCCTAAGAGTCGATCTAGAAAGCAACATCBDL233_ER_SacI(SEQ ID NO:1105) TGAGCTCGAATTAGTCCTTGTGGTTCTACTC BDL234SalI,  BDL234_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1106) SmaIAATGTCGACTGATAAGAATGCTCCTGACTGG BDL234_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1107)AATGTCGACTCTTTCTCTGTATCTCGACGTTC BDL234_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1108)TCCCGGGCTAAAATCCAAGTGCCCAAGAAC BDL234_ER_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1109)TCCCGGGCTAGCAAAACATAAATCCAAGTGC BDL235 SalI, BDL235_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1110) SmaI AATGTCGACTCTTACTCAATCCGAAGAATGGBDL235_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1111) CCCCGGGACTTCGATTCACATTTCTCCTC BDL237SalI,  BDL237_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1112) XbaIAAAGTCGACCGAAGTAAGAAAAGAAAATGGAG BDL237_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1113)AAAGTCGACCTTCGAAGTAAGAAAAGAAAATG BDL237_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1114)AATCTAGATCATACTCAAGTGCTTGTCCTCGG BDL237_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1115)ATTCTAGAGTTATTGGTGTCTTGTTCCACC BDL238 SalI, BDL238_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1116) XbaI AAAGTCGACCAACGAGCAAGAGAAAATGGBDL238_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1117) AAAGTCGACGATACAACGAGCAAGAGAAAATGBDL238_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1118) AATTCTAGATGGTTCTAGCTATCACTAGGTGCBDL238_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1119) AATTCTAGAGGCAATACAACAAGAGAAAACTC BDL240SalI,  BDL240_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1120) XbaIAAAGTCGACCGAGTACAATGGAGGTTTCG BDL240_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1121)ATTCTAGATCAAGCTTAAAGACCGTGAGGAAG BDL241 XbaI, BDL241_NF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1122) SmaI AATCTAGAACAGTCGTCGTCGTCAAGCBDL241_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1123) TCCCGGGCTAAAGGTAAGGATGAATTGTCAGAG BDL242SalI,  BDL242_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1124) XbaIAATGTCGACTCAAATCAATATGGGATCTTTC BDL242_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1125)ATTCTAGATTATTGACAAGTCTATTGCCCG BDL245 SalI, BDL245_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1126) SmaI AATGTCGACTTCGTTAAATTATGTCTTTGAGGBDL245_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1127) AAAGTCGACTGACTCAGAGATCAACAAAACCBDL245_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1128) ACCCGGGTTAGACTTACTCCAATTTCCAAGCBDL245_ER_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1129) TCCCGGGTCAAGAGTCGGTCACACGC BDL247 SmaI, BDL247_NF_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1130) SacI TCCCGGGTCCTTCTTGTGTGAGACCGAGBDL247_NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1131) TGAGCTCCTAAGAACTTTAACGCATTTTGTAGTGBDL248 SalI,  BDL248_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1132) XbaIAAAGTCGACAACGTGATCAATATGGAAGCTC BDL248_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1133)AAAGTCGACACTCACCAAAATCCAACGTG BDL248_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1134)AATTCTAGACTAAACTCAAGAGGAGTCGGGTAAG BDL248_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1135)AATTCTAGATTAATTCGTTACCGTTGCTAAG BDL249 SalI, BDL249_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1136) XbaI AAAGTCGACACCAAAATAGATCTAAAACATGGBDL249_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1137) AATGTCGACTTCACTCACCAAAATAGATCTAAAACBDL249_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1138) AATCTAGATCAACGTCAAACGGACTCGTTGBDL249_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1139) AATCTAGATCACCAAAAGTCTAAACGTCAAACG BDL250SalI,  BDL250_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1140) XbaITTAGTCGACCAAAGATGTTTTACTATGTGATTGTC BDL250_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1141)TTAGTCGACAGGAAGAGAAAGGTCAAAGATG BDL250_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1142)TATCTAGATCAAAATCTCACATCTCCATGCATAG BDL250_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1143)TATCTAGATCATGTTCGCATTACACAAATATCC BDL252 XbaI, BDL252_NF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1144) SmaI ATTCTAGATTCTCTGTCTCTTTGGCTTTTCBDL252_EF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1145) ATTCTAGATAAAACTCTCAGCTTCCCATTCBDL252_NR_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1146) TCCCGGGCTATTGTCATTGAGGAAGAACAGGBDL252_ER_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1147) TCCCGGGCTAAAAGTTCTTGCTTGCTTTCTG BDL48SalI,  BDL48_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1148) XbaIAAAGTCGACAGATTGCGTCACTGTAGTAGTAGTAG BDL48_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1149)AAAGTCGACCTGCAACTCTTTCTCACTTTCAC BDL48_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1150)AGTCTAGAAAACATTTTGCTTAAGATCTACAGAG BDL48_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1151)ACTCTAGAAGACATGAAAGCACAAATCAAG BDL49 SmaI, BDL49_NF_SmaI(SEQ ID NO: 1152) SacI ACCCGGGCTAACATGCTCCATCTCCTTCBDL49_NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1153) TGAGCTCTCAACCTGATCAGCGATGGTCG BDL58SalI,  BDL58_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1154) XbaIAAAGTCGACCACACAAGACTAACGATGTTGC BDL58_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1155)ATTCTAGATTAAAAAGAGACCTACACGGCG BDL62 SalI, BDL62_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1156) SacI AATGTCGACTCTCTGGTCTCCCTATATCAGCBDL62_NR_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1157) TGAGCTCCTATTTGATGTTGTTGTTGTTGTCTG BDL63SalI,  BDL63_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1158) XbaIATAGTCGACGTTTTGAGATATGGGAGGACC BDL63_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1159)AAAGTCGACCTCTAGATTCTTGGCGATTCTC BDL63_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1160)ATTCTAGATTAGTGGTTTTACTTGAGCCTCTCC BDL63_ER_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1161)TGAGCTCCTATTGTTCGTTACGGTGGTTTTAC BDL64 BDL64_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1162)AATGTCGACGGACTTTAAACATGGGTGTTC BDL64_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1163)ATTCTAGACTACTCATAGGTTTGTTACTTCCTTG BDL75 SalI, BDL75_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1164) XbaI AAAGTCGACAAGAAGAAAGAAACAGAGAATCGBDL75_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1165) ATTCTAGACTAATTGTTCAAAGTTCAGTGAGCC BDL79XbaI,  BDL79_NF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1166) SmaIATTCTAGAGGAGATTTTGTAATGGATTCTGC BDL79_EF_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1167)ATTCTAGAGAAGGAGATTTTGTAATGGATTC BDL79_NR_Sma(SEQ ID NO: 1168)TCCCGGGTTACGCTTAGACCATACAACGAGTAG BDL79_ER_Sma(SEQ ID NO: 1169)TCCCGGGGTTATTTACTTATGGCCTGTTTC BDL81 SalI, BDL81_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1170) SacI AAAGTCGACCAGGGGTTTAAGGATTTTCTCBDL81_ER_SacI(SEQ ID NO: 1171) CGAGCTCAAATGGCTTTCTCTACCCTTTG BDL83SalI,  BDL83_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1172) XbaIAATGTCGACTGGTAGGCTGAGAGAAAGAAAG BDL83_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1173)AGTCTAGATTAGAGAATAAAAGAAGAATGAGAAGC BDL85 XbaI, BDL85_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1174) SalI AATGTCGACTTAATCGTTAGAAGATGAGCCAGBDL85_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1175) ATTCTAGATCAGGCTTAGAAGCAAATGTCCAG BDL88SalI,  BDL88_NF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1176) XbaI AATGTCGACGAGGAGATGGCGAGCAACBDL88_NR_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1177) TATCTAGATTATTAGGTATTGCACTTCCACTTC BDL90BDL90_EF_SalI(SEQ ID NO: 1178) AAAGTCGACCACCAGAAACAAAGAGAGAGTGBDL90_ER_XbaI(SEQ ID NO: 1179) ATTCTAGATATCATGCAACCACAAACAATAG BDL94XbaI,  BDL94_EF_XbaI_new(SEQ ID NO: 1180) SmaIAATCTAGAAAGTCCAAGTGACCAACCATC BDL94_ER_SmaI_new(SEQ ID NO: 1181)TCCCGGGGGGATACAAGATTATGCAGGC Table 18. Provided are the PCR primers usedfor cloning the genes of some embodiments of the invention. Fwd =forward primer; Rev = reverse primer; Nested = nested primer for PCR(internal primer); External = external primer for PCR.

To facilitate cloning of the cDNAs/genomic sequences, a 8-12 bpextension was added to the 5′ of each primer. The primer extensionincludes an endonuclease restriction site. The restriction sites wereselected using two parameters: (a). The site did not exist in the cDNAsequence; and (b). The restriction sites in the forward and reverseprimers were designed such that the digested cDNA is inserted in thesense formation into the binary vector utilized for transformation.

Each digested PCR product was inserted into a high copy vectorpBlue-script KS plasmid vector [pBlue-script KS plasmid vector,Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot) stratagene (dot)com/manuals/212205 (dot) pdf] or into plasmids originating from thisvector. In cases where the pGXN high copy vector (originated frompBlue-script KS) was used, the PCR product was inserted upstream to theNOS terminator (SEQ ID NO:1182) originated from pBI 101.3 binary vector(GenBank Accession No. U12640, nucleotides 4356 to 4693) and downstreamto the 35S promoter (Table 20 below). The digested products and thelinearized plasmid vector were ligated using T4 DNA ligase enzyme(Roche, Switzerland).

Sequencing of the amplified PCR products was performed, using ABI 377sequencer (Amersham Biosciences Inc). In all cases, after confirmationof the sequence of the cloned genes, the cloned cDNA accompanied or notwith the NOS terminator was introduced into the pGI binary vector [pBXYNor pQXYN containing the 35S CaMV promoter] according to Table 19hereinabove, via digestion with appropriate restriction endonucleases.In any case the insert was followed by single copy of the NOS terminator(SEQ ID NO:1182x).

High copy plasmids containing the cloned genes were digested with therestriction endonucleases (New England BioLabs Inc) according to thesites designed in the primers (Table 18, above) and cloned into binaryvectors according to Table 19, below.

Binary vectors used for cloning: The plasmid pPI was constructed byinserting a synthetic poly-(A) signal sequence, originating from pGL3basic plasmid vector (Promega, Acc No U47295; bp 4658-4811) into theHindIII restriction site of the binary vector pBI101.3 (Clontech, Acc.No. U12640). pGI (pBXYN) (FIG. 1) is similar to pPI, but the originalgene in the backbone, the GUS gene, was replaced by the GUS-Intron genefollowed by the NOS terminator (SEQ ID NO:1182) (Vancanneyt. G, et alMGG 220, 245-50, 1990). pGI was used to clone the polynucleotidesequences, initially under the control of 35S promoter [Odell, J T, etal. Nature 313, 810-812 (28 Feb. 1985); SEQ ID NO:1184.

The modified pGI vector (pQXYN) is a modified version of the pGI vectorin which the cassette is inverted between the left and right borders sothe gene and its corresponding promoter are close to the right borderand the NPTII gene is close to the left border.

TABLE 19 Restriction enzyme sites used to clone the identified genesinto binary vector Restriction Restriction Restriction enzymes usedenzymes used for enzymes for cloning into cloning used for Gene Binarybinary vector- into binary digesting the name vector FORWARDvector-REVERSE binary vector BDL62 pQXYN SalI SacI SalI, SacI BDL75pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL79 pQXYN XbaI SmaI XbaI, Ecl136II BDL81pQXYN SalI SacI SalI, SacI BDL83 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL117pQXYN SmaI SmaI SmaI, Ecl136II BDL118 pQXYN SmaI SmaI SmaI, Ecl136IIBDL138 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL140 pQXYN XbaI SacI XbaI, SacIBDL147 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL149 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRIBDL152 pQXYN XbaI SacI XbaI, SacI BDL153 pQXYN SalI SmaI SalI, Ecl136IIBDL154 pQXYN SalI SacI SalI, SacI BDL155 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRIBDL156 pQXYN SalI SacI SacI, SalI BDL157 pQXYN SalI SacI SalI, SacIBDL158 pQXYN XbaI SmaI XbaI, Ecl136II BDL160 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI,EcoRI BDL162 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL167 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI,EcoRI BDL168 pQXYN XbaI SmaI XbaI, Ecl136II BDL169 pQXYN SalI EcoRISalI, EcoRI BDL171 pQXYN XbaI SacI XbaI, SacI BDL173 pQXYN XbaI SmaIXbaI, Ecl136II BDL174 pQXYN SalI SacI SalI, SacI BDL176 pQXYN SmaI SmaISmaI, Ecl136II BDL177 pQXYN SalI SacI SalI, SacI BDL181 pQXYN SalI SacISalI, SacI BDL182 pQXYN SalI SacI SalI, SacI BDL183 pQXYN SalI EcoRISalI, EcoRI BDL186 pQXYN SalI SacI SalI, SacI BDL187 pQXYN SalI SmaISalI, Ecl136II BDL188 pQXYN XbaI SmaI XbaI, Ecl136II BDL189 pQXYN SmaIBamHI SmaI, Ecl136II BDL190 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL192 pQXYNSalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL193 pQXYN XbaI SacI XbaI, SacI BDL194 pQXYNEcoRV EcoRV SmaI, Ecl136II BDL196 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL197pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL201 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL203pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL220 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL221pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL222 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL223pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL229 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL230pQXYN SmaI SmaI SmaI, Ecl136II BDL231 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRIBDL235 pQXYN SalI SmaI SalI, Ecl136II BDL242 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI,EcoRI BDL245 pQXYN SalI SmaI SalI, Ecl136II BDL247 pQXYN SmaI SacI SmaI,SacI BDL248 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL250 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI,EcoRI BDL49 pQXYN EcoRV SacI SmaI, SacI BDL58 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI,EcoRI BDL63 pQXYN SalI SacI SalI, SacI BDL64 pQXYN SalI XbaI SalI,Ecl136II BDL85 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL88 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI,EcoRI BDL90 pQXYN XbaI SalI SalI, Ecl136II BDL94 pQXYN XbaI SmaI xbaI,Ecl136II BDL102 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL224 pQXYN XbaI EcoRIXbaI, EcoRI BDL225 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL226 pQXYN EcoRV EcoRVSmaI, Ecl136II BDL227 pQXYN SalI SmaI SalI, Ecl136II BDL228 pQXYN SalIEcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL232 pQXYN XbaI EcoRI XbaI, EcoRI BDL233 pQXYN SalIEcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL234 pQXYN SalI SmaI SalI, Ecl136II BDL237 pQXYNSalI SacI SalI, SacI BDL238 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL240 pQXYNSalI SacI SalI, SacI BDL241 pQXYN XbaI SmaI XbaI, Ecl136II BDL249 pQXYNSalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI BDL252 pQXYN XbaI SmaI XbaI, Ecl136II BDL47 pQXYNXbaI SmaI XbaI, Ecl136II BDL48 pQXYN SalI EcoRI SalI, EcoRI Table 19.

TABLE 20 Genes cloned from cDNA libraries or genomic DNA in a High copynumber plasmid Polypeptide Gene Amplified from Polynucleotide SEQ IDName High copy plasmid Organism Origin SEQ ID NO: NO: BDL62 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 847 108 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL75 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 848 109 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL79 pKS(Pks_J)Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 849 110 ND BDL81 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA850 111 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL83 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 851 112(pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL117 Topo B Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 852 926 NDBDL118 Topo B Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 853 114 ND BDL138 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 854 116 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL140 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 855 117 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL147 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 856 118 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL149 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 857 119 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL152 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 858 120 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL153 pKS(Pks_J)Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 859 121 ND BDL154 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA860 122 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL155 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 861123 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL156 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 862 124(pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL157 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 863 125 (pKG +Nos + 35S) ND BDL158 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 864 126 NDBDL160 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 865 127 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL162pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 866 128 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL167 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 867 196 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL168 pKS(Pks_J)Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 868 132 ND BDL169 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA869 133 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL171 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 870927 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL173 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 871135 ND BDL174 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 872 136 (pKG + Nos + 35S) NDBDL176 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 873 137 ND BDL177 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 874 138 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL181 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 875 139 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL182 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 876 140 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL183 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 877 141 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL186 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 878 928 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL187 pKS(Pks_J)Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 879 929 ND BDL188 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 880 144 ND BDL189 Topo B Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 881 145ND BDL190 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 882 146 (pKG + Nos + 35S) NDBDL192 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 883 147 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL193pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 884 148 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL194pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 885 149 ND BDL196 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 886 150 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL197 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 887 151 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL201 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 888 153 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL203 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 889 154 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL220 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 890 156 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL221 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 891 157 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL222 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 892 158 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL223 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 893 159 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL229 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 894 160 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL230 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 895 161 ND BDL231 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 896 162(pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL235 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 897 163ND BDL242 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 898 164 (pKG + Nos + 35S) NDBDL245 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 899 166 ND BDL247 pKS(Pks_J)Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 900 167 ND BDL248 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA901 168 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL250 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 902169 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL49 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 903170 ND BDL58 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 904 171 (pKG + Nos + 35S) NDBDL63 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 905 172 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL64Topo B Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 906 173 ND BDL85 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 907 175 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL88 pGXN RICE Oryza sativaL. RNA 908 176 (pKG + Nos + 35S) Japonica ND BDL90 Topo B RICE Oryzasativa gDNA 909 Non Coding L. Japonica ND polynucleotide BDL94 pGXN RiceJaponica ND gDNA 910 930 (pKG + Nos + 35S) leaves BDL102 pGXN MAIZE Zeamays L. RNA 911 178 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL224 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 912 179 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL225 pGXN Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 913 180 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL226 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsisthaliana RNA 914 181 ND BDL227 Topo B Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 915 182ND BDL228 pGXN CASTOR BEAN RNA 916 931 (pKG + Nos + 35S) Ricinuscommunis L. ND BDL232 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 917 184 (pKG + Nos +35S) ND BDL233 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 918 932 (pKG + Nos + 35S)ND BDL234 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 919 186 ND BDL237 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 920 187 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL238 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 921 188 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL240 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 922 189 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL241 pKS(Pks_J)Arabidopsis thaliana RNA 923 190 ND BDL249 pGXN Arabidopsis thaliana RNA924 191 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL252 pKS(Pks_J) Arabidopsis thaliana RNA925 193 ND BDL47 High copy plasmid Synthetic DNA 845 106 pMA BDL48 pGXNArabidopsis thaliana RNA 846 107 (pKG + Nos + 35S) ND BDL200 High copyplasmid Synthetic DNA 47 152 Table 20: Cloned and synthetic genes areprovided along with the sequence identifiers of their polynucleotidesand polypeptides. Also provided are the source organism, tissue and thecloning vectors. ND = not a determined ecotype.

Selected DNA sequences were synthesized by a commercial supplierGeneArt, GmbH [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot)geneart (dot) com/)]. Synthetic DNA is designed in silico. Suitablerestriction enzymes sites were added to the cloned sequences at the 5′end and at the 3′ end to enabled later cloning into the pBXYN/pQXYNbinary downstream of the CaMV 35S promoter (SEQ ID NO:1184). For exampleBDL47 (SEQ ID NO:1 was synthesized and the XbaI and SmaI restrictionenzymes were added to the synthetic sequence in order to facilitatecloning.

For 7 genes, namely BDL117, BDL171, BDL186, BDL187, BDL94, BDL228 andBDL233, the protein translation of the amplified cDNA sequence did notmatch the initial bioinformatics prediction of the protein sequences.The polypeptide sequences encoded by the cloned sequence were predictedand are provided in SEQ ID NO: 926-932.

Example 8 Producing Transgenic Arabidopsis Plants Expressing theIdentified Polynucleotides of the Invention

Materials and Experimental Methods

Plant transformation—The Arabidopsis thaliana var Columbia (To plants)were transformed according to the Floral Dip procedure [Clough S J, BentA F. (1998) Floral dip: a simplified method for Agrobacterium-mediatedtransformation of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant J. 16(6): 735-43; andDesfeux C, Clough S J, Bent A F. (2000) Female reproductive tissues arethe primary targets of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation by theArabidopsis floral-dip method. Plant Physiol. 123(3): 895-904] withminor modifications. Briefly, Arabidopsis thaliana Columbia (Co10) Toplants were sown in 250 ml pots filled with wet peat-based growth mix.The pots were covered with aluminum foil and a plastic dome, kept at 4°C. for 3-4 days, then uncovered and incubated in a growth chamber at18-24° C. under 16/8 hours light/dark cycles. The T₀ plants were readyfor transformation six days before anthesis.

Single colonies of Agrobacterium carrying the binary vectors harboringthe seed oil genes were cultured in LB medium supplemented withkanamycin (50 mg/L) and gentamycin (50 mg/L). The cultures wereincubated at 28° C. for 48 hours under vigorous shaking and centrifugedat 4000 rpm for 5 minutes. The pellets comprising Agrobacterium cellswere resuspended in a transformation medium which containedhalf-strength (2.15 g/L) Murashige-Skoog (Duchefa); 0.044 μM benzylaminopurine (Sigma); 112 μg/L B5 Gambourg vitamins (Sigma); 5% sucrose; and0.2 ml/L Silwet L-77 (OSI Specialists, CT) in double-distilled water, atpH of 5.7.

Transformation of T₀ plants was performed by inverting each plant intoan Agrobacterium suspension such that the above ground plant tissue wassubmerged for 3-5 seconds. Each inoculated T₀ plant was immediatelyplaced in a plastic tray, then covered with clear plastic dome tomaintain humidity and was kept in the dark at room temperature for 18hours to facilitate infection and transformation. Transformed(transgenic) plants were then uncovered and transferred to a greenhousefor recovery and maturation. The transgenic T₀ plants were grown in thegreenhouse for 3-5 weeks until siliques were brown and dry, then seedswere harvested from plants and kept at room temperature until sowing.

For generating T₁ and T₂ transgenic plants harboring the genes, seedscollected from transgenic T₀ plants were surface-sterilized by soakingin 70% ethanol for 1 minute, followed by soaking in 5% sodiumhypochlorite and 0.05% triton for 5 minutes. The surface-sterilizedseeds were thoroughly washed in sterile distilled water then placed onculture plates containing half-strength Murashig-Skoog (Duchefa); 2%sucrose; 0.8% plant agar; 50 mM kanamycin; and 200 mM carbenicylin(Duchefa). The culture plates were incubated at 4° C. for 48 hours thentransferred to a growth room at 25° C. for an additional week ofincubation. Vital T₁ Arabidopsis plants were transferred to a freshculture plates for another week of incubation. Following incubation theT₁ plants were removed from culture plates and planted in growth mixcontained in 250 ml pots. The transgenic plants were allowed to grow ina greenhouse to maturity. Seeds harvested from T₁ plants were culturedand grown to maturity as T₂ plants under the same conditions as used forculturing and growing the T₁ plants.

Example 9 Improved Transgenic Plant Performance

To analyze the effect of expression of the isolated polynucleotides inplants, plants were grown in pots with an adequate amount of nutrientsand water. The plants were analyzed for their overall size, growth rate,time to inflorescence emergence (bolting) and flowering, seed yield,weight of 1,000 seeds, dry matter and harvest index [(HI) seed yield/drymatter]. Transgenic plants performance was compared to control plantsgrown in parallel under the same conditions. Mock-transgenic plants withan empty vector or expressing the uidA reporter gene (GUS-Intron) underthe same promoter were used as control.

Parameters were measured as described in Examples 2, 3 and 4 above.

Statistical analyses—Plant growth rate, plant area, time to bolt, timeto flower, weight of 1,000 seeds, seed yield, oil yield, dry matter, andharvest index area data were analyzed using t-test. To identifyoutperforming genes and constructs, results from mix of transformationevents or independent events were analyzed. For gene versus controlanalysis t-test was applied, using significance of p<0.1. The JMPstatistics software package was used (Version 5.2.1, SAS Institute Inc.,Cary, N.C., USA).

Experimental Results

Plants expressing the polynucleotides of the invention were assayed fora number of commercially desired traits. Results are presented in Tables21 and 22.

Analysis of plants in tissue culture assay—Tables 21 and 22,hereinbelow, depict analyses of seed yield in plants overexpressing thepolynucleotides of the invention under the regulation of theconstitutive 35S (SEQ ID NO:1184) or At6669 (SEQ ID NO:1183) promoters.In cases where a certain event appears more than once, the event wastested in several independent experiments.

TABLE 21 Results obtained in a tissue culture assay Leaf Leaf Leaf RootsRoots Roots Roots Area Area Area Length Length Length Coverage Gene Ev.Par. TP1 TP2 TP3 TP1 TP2 TP3 TP1 BDL102 10471.1 P 0.24 0.01 0.02 0.130.05 BDL102 10471.1 Av 1.15 1.59 1.39 1.23 2.34 BDL102 10471.3 P 0.60.03 0.01 0.09 0.01 BDL102 10471.3 Av 1.1 1.43 1.37 1.24 1.72 BDL10210472.1 P 0.04 0.15 0.03 BDL102 10472.1 Av 1.27 1.1 1.54 BDL102 10474.2P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.23 0.13 BDL102 10474.2 Av 2.02 1.61 1.51 1.1 1.13BDL102 10474.6 P 0.13 0.29 BDL102 10474.6 Av 1.21 1.14 BDL118 10481.2 P<0.01 0.01 0.01 0.46 BDL118 10481.2 Av 2.02 1.91 2 1.1 BDL118 10481.5 P0.2 0.01 BDL118 10481.5 Av 1.15 1.29 BDL118 10484.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01BDL118 10484.3 Av 1.51 1.41 1.58 BDL140 10421.3 P 0.03 0.01 0.05 0.39BDL140 10421.3 Av 1.61 1.72 1.68 1.18 BDL140 10423.1 P 0.21 0.09 0.280.01 0.11 0.19 BDL140 10423.1 Av 1.24 1.31 1.21 1.38 1.21 1.28 BDL14010424.4 P <0.01 <0.01 0.01 BDL140 10424.4 Av 1.43 1.48 1.62 BDL15210431.4 P 0.15 0.12 0.12 BDL152 10431.4 Av 1.17 1.18 1.18 BDL152 10432.5P 0.37 0.01 0.07 0.14 0.35 BDL152 10432.5 Av 1.16 1.28 1.22 1.13 1.25BDL152 10434.1 P 0.43 BDL152 10434.1 Av 1.12 BDL152 10434.4 P 0.08 0.040.01 <0.01 0.08 BDL152 10434.4 Av 1.18 1.52 1.48 1.31 2.33 BDL15310142.2 P <0.01 <0.01 0.03 BDL153 10142.2 Av 1.83 1.43 1.99 BDL15310144.1 P <0.01 0.02 0.07 0.31 0.15 0.7 BDL153 10144.1 Av 1.3 1.31 1.381.13 1.12 1.1 BDL153 10144.4 P 0.03 BDL153 10144.4 Av 1.28 BDL15410703.1 P 0.09 0.14 0.05 0.09 BDL154 10703.1 Av 1.36 1.14 1.2 1.77BDL154 10703.11 P 0.01 0.17 0.3 0.5 BDL154 10703.11 Av 1.37 1.21 1.161.18 BDL154 10703.6 P 0.42 BDL154 10703.6 Av 1.23 BDL154 10703.1 P <0.01<0.01 <0.01 0.11 0.02 BDL154 10703.1 Av 1.34 1.5 1.61 1.14 1.18 BDL15410703.5 P 0.46 0.36 0.02 0.02 0.21 BDL154 10703.5 Av 1.1 1.16 1.47 1.391.52 BDL154 10703.6 P 0.24 0.06 0.07 0.15 BDL154 10703.6 Av 1.19 1.331.24 1.59 BDL155 9994.3 P 0.22 BDL155 9994.3 Av 1.15 BDL156 10853.6 P0.08 BDL156 10853.6 Av 1.12 BDL156 10852.6 P 0.15 BDL156 10852.6 Av 1.15BDL156 10853.6 P 0.07 0.01 0.24 BDL156 10853.6 Av 1.34 1.71 1.22 BDL15610854.4 P 0.11 0.11 <0.01 0.01 BDL156 10854.4 Av 1.13 1.26 1.66 1.24BDL156 10855.3 P 0.01 0.1 BDL156 10855.3 Av 1.35 1.2 BDL158 9973.3 P0.01 0.03 0.17 0.09 BDL158 9973.3 Av 1.21 1.27 1.1 1.21 BDL158 9971.3 P0.42 0.32 0.27 BDL158 9971.3 Av 1.13 1.13 1.11 BDL158 9973.1 P 0.08 0.240.17 0.02 BDL158 9973.1 Av 1.27 1.16 1.13 1.37 BDL158 9973.3 P <0.010.02 0.06 0.01 BDL158 9973.3 Av 1.66 1.39 1.17 2.06 BDL158 9974.2 P<0.01 <0.01 0.09 BDL158 9974.2 Av 1.68 1.58 1.23 BDL158 9974.3 P <0.01<0.01 0.13 BDL158 9974.3 Av 1.76 1.62 1.58 BDL158 9971.3 P 0.07 0.150.02 BDL158 9971.3 Av 1.22 1.2 1.15 BDL158 9973.1 P 0.01 0.41 0.03 <0.01<0.01 0.08 0.02 BDL158 9973.1 Av 1.28 1.11 1.35 1.49 1.35 1.26 1.8BDL158 9973.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.02 BDL158 9973.3 Av 1.36 1.52 1.391.51 BDL160 10011.5 P 0.01 0.22 0.15 BDL160 10011.5 Av 1.41 1.2 1.26BDL160 10011.5 P 0.45 BDL160 10011.5 Av 1.25 BDL160 10011.7 P 0.04 0.01BDL160 10011.7 Av 1.34 1.95 BDL160 10013.1 P 0.53 BDL160 10013.1 Av 1.11BDL160 10014.9 P 0.2 0.39 0.61 BDL160 10014.9 Av 1.17 1.15 1.11 BDL16010015.2 P 0.07 0.12 BDL160 10015.2 Av 1.19 1.22 BDL167 10042.3 P <0.01BDL167 10042.3 Av 1.3 BDL167 10043.1 P <0.01 0.02 0.14 BDL167 10043.1 Av1.37 1.18 1.2 BDL167 10043.2 P 0.06 0.13 0.03 BDL167 10043.2 Av 1.611.29 1.23 BDL167 10043.3 P 0.01 0.01 <0.01 0.01 BDL167 10043.3 Av 1.931.58 1.61 1.25 BDL167 10044.2 P <0.01 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.04 0.03 BDL16710044.2 Av 1.63 1.43 1.43 1.28 1.23 1.23 BDL167 10043.1 P <0.01 <0.010.15 <0.01 0.12 0.47 BDL167 10043.1 Av 1.56 1.53 1.43 1.22 1.1 1.1BDL167 10044.2 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL167 10044.2 Av 1.45 1.18 2.16BDL168 9881.3 P 0.15 0.04 BDL168 9881.3 Av 1.23 1.67 BDL168 9881.4 P<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.02 BDL168 9881.4 Av 1.89 1.72 1.38 2.28 BDL1689882.1 P 0.01 0.01 0.04 <0.01 BDL168 9882.1 Av 1.9 1.68 1.29 2.57 BDL1689883.3 P 0.2 BDL168 9883.3 Av 1.38 BDL168 9884.1 P <0.01 <0.01 0.02 0.02BDL168 9884.1 Av 2.05 1.73 1.38 2.61 BDL169 10744.2 P 0.08 0.02 0.080.29 BDL169 10744.2 Av 1.24 1.23 1.19 1.11 BDL169 10747.1 P 0.03 0.090.13 BDL169 10747.1 Av 1.15 1.12 1.11 BDL169 10747.5 P 0.06 0.01 <0.010.12 BDL169 10747.5 Av 1.62 1.59 1.4 1.73 BDL171 10661.2 P 0.25 0.28<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.03 BDL171 10661.2 Av 1.19 1.23 1.62 1.65 1.39 1.8BDL171 10661.5 P 0.02 0.04 0.12 BDL171 10661.5 Av 1.45 1.35 1.24 BDL17110664.1 P 0.31 0.3 0.25 0.15 0.27 0.31 0.44 BDL171 10664.1 Av 1.17 1.181.23 1.23 1.15 1.14 1.17 BDL173 9951.2 P 0.18 0.42 0.3 BDL173 9951.2 Av1.17 1.11 1.17 BDL173 9952.1 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL173 9952.1 Av2.17 1.99 1.45 3.32 BDL173 9952.2 P 0.35 <0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.02 BDL1739952.2 Av 1.12 1.72 1.63 1.24 2.07 BDL174 11082.1 P 0.2 0.06 0.42 BDL17411082.1 Av 1.14 1.17 1.18 BDL174 11083.1 P <0.01 <0.01 0.07 <0.01 <0.010.01 0.01 BDL174 11083.1 Av 1.64 1.32 1.2 1.78 1.67 1.39 1.66 BDL17411083.2 P 0.04 0.17 0.12 0.14 0.18 BDL174 11083.2 Av 1.2 1.16 1.25 1.341.32 BDL174 11084.1 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.03 0.1 0.03 BDL174 11084.1 Av2.56 2.29 2.1 1.31 1.31 1.68 BDL174 11085.1 P 0.41 0.07 <0.01 <0.01<0.01 <0.01 BDL174 11085.1 Av 1.11 1.24 1.95 2.33 1.98 1.71 BDL17411083.2 P <0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.3 0.31 BDL174 11083.2 Av 1.41 1.35 1.211.16 1.27 BDL174 11084.1 P 0.15 <0.01 BDL174 11084.1 Av 1.22 2.13 BDL17411085.1 P <0.01 0.01 0.04 0.01 BDL174 11085.1 Av 2.04 1.36 1.16 2.33BDL176 9891.4 P 0.1 0.05 0.06 BDL176 9891.4 Av 1.1 1.17 1.36 BDL1769893.2 P 0.04 <0.01 0.27 BDL176 9893.2 Av 1.28 1.26 1.22 BDL176 9893.3 P0.38 BDL176 9893.3 Av 1.13 BDL176 9893.2 P 0.15 BDL176 9893.2 Av 1.2BDL176 9893.3 P 0.05 0.01 0.36 0.16 BDL176 9893.3 Av 1.42 1.34 1.16 1.42BDL177 10521.3 P 0.23 BDL177 10521.3 Av 1.16 BDL177 10524.2 P 0.13BDL177 10524.2 Av 1.16 BDL181 11293.6 P 0.32 BDL181 11293.6 Av 1.18BDL181 11294.7 P 0.36 BDL181 11294.7 Av 1.13 BDL181 11293.1 P 0.6 BDL18111293.1 Av 1.11 BDL181 11293.6 P 0.01 <0.01 BDL181 11293.6 Av 1.2 1.27BDL181 11294.7 P 0.16 0.17 BDL181 11294.7 Av 1.1 1.1 BDL182 10691.8 P0.03 0.07 0.16 BDL182 10691.8 Av 1.32 1.24 1.18 BDL182 10692.2 P 0.170.08 0.19 BDL182 10692.2 Av 1.19 1.27 1.2 BDL182 10693.3 P 0.01 0.07 0.10.17 0.1 0.11 BDL182 10693.3 Av 1.55 1.44 1.31 1.17 1.17 1.1 BDL18210693.5 P 0.04 0.24 0.12 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.48 BDL182 10693.5 Av 1.331.15 1.22 1.39 1.33 1.21 1.1 BDL183 9943.4 P 0.02 0.11 0.02 BDL1839943.4 Av 1.26 1.17 1.61 BDL183 9944.4 P 0.01 <0.01 0.02 0.36 BDL1839944.4 Av 1.24 1.36 1.21 1.26 BDL189 11351.2 P 0.05 BDL189 11351.2 Av1.17 BDL189 11353.3 P 0.22 0.04 0.11 BDL189 11353.3 Av 1.19 1.2 1.17BDL189 11353.5 P 0.26 BDL189 11353.5 Av 1.1 BDL189 11355.4 P 0.12 0.120.1 BDL189 11355.4 Av 1.12 1.11 1.11 BDL189 11356.7 P 0.27 BDL18911356.7 Av 1.11 BDL196 10242.2 P 0.02 0.09 0.05 0.03 0.09 BDL196 10242.2Av 1.18 1.13 1.29 1.28 1.16 BDL196 10243.4 P 0.09 0.25 0.24 0.13 0.050.17 <0.01 BDL196 10243.4 Av 1.16 1.23 1.24 1.11 1.25 1.15 1.74 BDL19610244.1 P <0.01 0.07 0.23 0.21 BDL196 10244.1 Av 1.21 1.19 1.22 1.33BDL196 10243.3 P 0.02 0.68 BDL196 10243.3 Av 1.16 1.1 BDL196 10243.4 P0.01 <0.01 0.23 BDL196 10243.4 Av 1.24 1.49 1.12 BDL197 11362.2 P 0.14BDL197 11362.2 Av 1.17 BDL197 11363.1 P 0.04 BDL197 11363.1 Av 1.17BDL197 11363.6 P 0.15 BDL197 11363.6 Av 1.17 BDL197 11364.1 P 0.08 0.010.09 BDL197 11364.1 Av 1.14 1.42 1.15 BDL197 11364.5 P 0.09 0.04 BDL19711364.5 Av 1.12 1.25 BDL197 11363.6 P 0.2 0.07 BDL197 11363.6 Av 1.111.19 BDL201 9961.2 P 0.02 0.18 0.39 BDL201 9961.2 Av 1.41 1.18 1.18BDL201 9961.3 P 0.08 0.13 BDL201 9961.3 Av 1.21 1.28 BDL201 9961.4 P0.06 0.15 0.43 0.02 BDL201 9961.4 Av 1.37 1.25 1.11 1.76 BDL201 9964.3 P<0.01 0.01 0.02 BDL201 9964.3 Av 1.34 1.24 1.84 BDL220 10331.2 P <0.01<0.01 0.15 BDL220 10331.2 Av 1.75 1.37 1.15 BDL220 10331.5 P 0.01 0.020.05 BDL220 10331.5 Av 1.48 1.64 1.75 BDL220 10334.2 P <0.01 <0.01 0.04BDL220 10334.2 Av 1.58 1.37 1.21 BDL221 10341.3 P 0.13 0.13 0.06 BDL22110341.3 Av 1.26 1.19 1.44 BDL221 10341.4 P <0.01 0.01 <0.01 BDL22110341.4 Av 1.57 1.3 1.35 BDL221 10343.3 P 0.11 0.06 0.01 <0.01 <0.010.13 BDL221 10343.3 Av 1.1 1.16 1.37 1.4 1.4 1.55 BDL221 10341.1 P 0.260.45 0.19 BDL221 10341.1 Av 1.18 1.15 1.26 BDL221 10342.1 P <0.01 <0.010.02 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL221 10342.1 Av 1.9 1.46 1.32 2.02 2.081.68 4.31 BDL221 10343.1 P 0.18 0.05 0.07 0.26 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL22110343.1 Av 1.3 1.51 1.58 1.12 1.35 1.32 1.67 BDL221 10343.3 P <0.01<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL221 10343.3 Av 2.7 1.8 1.59 1.752.12 1.87 2.4 BDL221 10343.4 P 0.05 0.11 0.19 0.01 <0.01 0.05 0.02BDL221 10343.4 Av 1.88 1.56 1.57 1.46 1.65 1.49 2.07 BDL221 10344.3 P0.02 0.01 0.05 0.1 0.18 <0.01 BDL221 10344.3 Av 1.9 1.61 1.56 1.14 1.121.63 BDL223 10793.5 P 0.11 BDL223 10793.5 Av 1.14 BDL223 10793.8 P 0.210.17 0.08 BDL223 10793.8 Av 1.18 1.17 1.18 BDL223 10796.2 P <0.01 0.06BDL223 10796.2 Av 1.22 1.14 BDL223 10791.1 P 0.07 0.12 0.03 BDL22310791.1 Av 1.21 1.17 1.2 BDL223 10793.3 P 0.01 0.04 0.02 0.14 BDL22310793.3 Av 1.33 1.3 1.55 1.18 BDL223 10793.5 P 0.07 0.04 BDL223 10793.5Av 1.14 1.18 BDL223 10793.8 P 0.08 0.08 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL22310793.8 Av 1.17 1.19 1.54 1.65 1.5 1.64 BDL223 10796.1 P 0.11 BDL22310796.1 Av 1.15 BDL224 10451.3 P 0.29 BDL224 10451.3 Av 1.11 BDL22410451.5 P 0.1 BDL224 10451.5 Av 1.15 BDL224 10451.7 P <0.01 <0.01 0.010.03 0.07 0.23 0.16 BDL224 10451.7 Av 1.58 1.69 1.8 1.39 1.26 1.19 1.41BDL226 10861.2 P 0.4 BDL226 10861.2 Av 1.1 BDL227 11491.1 P <0.01 <0.010.03 0.01 BDL227 11491.1 Av 1.5 1.46 1.21 1.95 BDL227 11491.3 P <0.01<0.01 <0.01 0.01 <0.01 0.02 0.04 BDL227 11491.3 Av 2.12 1.6 1.42 1.641.65 1.56 2.26 BDL227 11491.5 P <0.01 <0.01 0.02 <0.01 <0.01 0.01 <0.01BDL227 11491.5 Av 1.84 1.53 1.42 1.78 1.85 1.64 2.73 BDL227 11492.5 P<0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.26 0.03 0.04 0.01 BDL227 11492.5 Av 2.13 1.91 1.721.17 1.48 1.32 1.58 BDL227 11493.5 P <0.01 <0.01 0.02 0.33 <0.01 <0.010.02 BDL227 11493.5 Av 1.55 1.63 1.74 1.1 1.47 1.47 1.53 BDL230 10671.3P <0.01 0.06 0.01 BDL230 10671.3 Av 1.36 1.44 1.81 BDL230 10671.5 P 0.330.49 0.46 BDL230 10671.5 Av 1.22 1.16 1.11 BDL231 11111.1 P <0.01 <0.01<0.01 BDL231 11111.1 Av 1.55 1.53 1.51 BDL231 11111.2 P 0.11 0.15 0.040.19 0.04 BDL231 11111.2 Av 1.12 1.12 1.28 1.15 1.19 BDL231 11111.3 P<0.01 0.04 0.05 BDL231 11111.3 Av 1.35 1.26 1.37 BDL231 11112.2 P <0.010.01 0.03 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.01 BDL231 11112.2 Av 1.72 1.43 1.38 2.081.68 1.48 2.34 BDL231 11116.5 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.03 <0.01BDL231 11116.5 Av 1.82 1.77 1.76 1.67 1.38 1.31 1.92 BDL231 11111.1 P<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.36 0.07 BDL231 11111.1 Av 1.88 1.78 1.49 1.11 1.43BDL231 11111.2 P 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.1 0.05 BDL231 11111.2 Av 1.66 1.61.45 1.28 1.15 1.51 BDL231 11111.3 P 0.01 0.26 0.53 BDL231 11111.3 Av1.31 1.1 1.1 BDL231 11112.2 P 0.24 0.17 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL231 11112.2Av 1.12 1.12 1.51 1.3 1.97 BDL231 11116.5 P 0.11 0.24 BDL231 11116.5 Av1.19 1.35 BDL232 10904.1 P 0.61 0.54 0.43 0.23 BDL232 10904.1 Av 1.171.2 1.1 1.14 BDL232 10905.1 P 0.02 <0.01 0.05 0.02 BDL232 10905.1 Av 1.51.46 1.25 1.4 BDL232 10906.3 P 0.25 0.14 0.59 0.25 BDL232 10906.3 Av1.29 1.45 1.1 1.21 BDL232 10902.2 P <0.01 <0.01 0.06 0.01 BDL232 10902.2Av 1.7 1.47 1.24 2.1 BDL232 10905.1 P <0.01 0.01 0.09 0.03 BDL23210905.1 Av 1.59 1.42 1.2 2.17 BDL233 10825.4 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01BDL233 10825.4 Av 1.47 1.45 1.35 2.01 BDL233 10822.4 P 0.14 BDL23310822.4 Av 1.23 BDL233 10824.2 P 0.05 BDL233 10824.2 Av 1.16 BDL23310825.3 P 0.26 BDL233 10825.3 Av 1.27 BDL233 10825.4 P 0.24 <0.01 <0.01<0.01 0.19 BDL233 10825.4 Av 1.17 1.56 1.59 1.51 1.3 BDL235 11413.2 P<0.01 0.01 0.03 0.18 BDL235 11413.2 Av 1.63 1.3 1.19 1.43 BDL235 11413.2P <0.01 <0.01 0.05 0.01 BDL235 11413.2 Av 1.57 1.45 1.29 2.12 BDL23710892.2 P 0.16 0.28 0.12 0.09 BDL237 10892.2 Av 1.21 1.1 1.12 1.4 BDL23710893.1 P <0.01 0.02 0.14 0.19 0.28 BDL237 10893.1 Av 1.96 1.39 1.241.13 1.14 BDL237 10895.3 P <0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.02 BDL23710895.3 Av 2.2 1.99 1.9 1.84 1.97 1.79 2.09 BDL237 10896.1 P 0.19 0.49BDL237 10896.1 Av 1.29 1.1 BDL238 10951.4 P 0.08 0.01 BDL238 10951.4 Av1.2 1.69 BDL238 10952.3 P 0.05 BDL238 10952.3 Av 1.2 BDL238 10953.3 P0.32 BDL238 10953.3 Av 1.5 BDL238 10954.2 P 0.05 0.59 BDL238 10954.2 Av1.24 1.13 BDL238 10954.3 P 0.09 0.03 0.17 0.26 0.17 BDL238 10954.3 Av1.16 1.3 1.12 1.1 1.45 BDL238 10951.4 P 0.13 0.04 0.23 0.17 BDL23810951.4 Av 1.22 1.24 1.11 1.39 BDL238 10952.3 P 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.11BDL238 10952.3 Av 1.44 1.43 1.37 1.54 BDL238 10954.2 P 0.02 0.08 0.170.22 BDL238 10954.2 Av 1.26 1.2 1.17 1.2 BDL240 10802.2 P <0.01 0.2 0.310.16 0.1 0.1 BDL240 10802.2 Av 1.57 1.23 1.17 1.17 1.19 1.25 BDL24010803.5 P 0.11 0.4 0.31 BDL240 10803.5 Av 1.4 1.11 1.16 BDL240 10806.4 P<0.01 0.18 BDL240 10806.4 Av 1.29 1.16 BDL240 10806.6 P 0.02 0.02 0.040.02 0.01 0.01 0.03 BDL240 10806.6 Av 2.29 1.87 1.52 1.59 1.63 1.49 3.75BDL241 10873.1 P 0.51 BDL241 10873.1 Av 1.2 BDL241 10874.3 P 0.32 BDL24110874.3 Av 1.42 BDL241 10875.1 P 0.04 0.01 0.13 <0.01 BDL241 10875.1 Av1.4 1.34 1.21 2.29 BDL241 10874.3 P <0.01 <0.01 0.02 0.1 BDL241 10874.3Av 1.34 1.34 1.43 1.15 BDL241 10875.1 P <0.01 0.03 0.3 0.03 BDL24110875.1 Av 1.32 1.29 1.16 1.52 BDL242 10731.3 P 0.03 0.06 0.18 0.11BDL242 10731.3 Av 1.12 1.14 1.13 1.36 BDL242 10731.5 P 0.4 0.11 0.180.32 BDL242 10731.5 Av 1.13 1.16 1.1 1.23 BDL242 10731.2 P 0.36 BDL24210731.2 Av 1.2 BDL242 10731.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.02 <0.01 0.03 BDL24210731.3 Av 3.13 2.79 2.3 1.26 1.27 1.65 BDL242 10731.5 P 0.06 0.05 0.05<0.01 BDL242 10731.5 Av 1.45 1.21 1.16 1.77 BDL242 10731.7 P <0.01 <0.01<0.01 0.04 <0.01 <0.01 0.14 BDL242 10731.7 Av 2.48 1.8 1.61 1.36 1.411.3 1.72 BDL242 10737.2 P 0.03 0.04 <0.01 0.47 BDL242 10737.2 Av 2.071.86 1.9 1.1 BDL247 10911.1 P <0.01 0.08 0.23 BDL247 10911.1 Av 1.29 1.21.13 BDL247 10912.1 P 0.24 BDL247 10912.1 Av 1.13 BDL247 10912.6 P 0.19BDL247 10912.6 Av 1.19 BDL247 10915.1 P 0.54 0.42 BDL247 10915.1 Av 1.111.12 BDL247 10911.1 P 0.01 0.05 0.02 0.02 0.06 0.05 0.05 BDL247 10911.1Av 2.19 1.85 1.68 1.46 1.53 1.46 2.05 BDL247 10912.1 P <0.01 <0.01 0.150.21 0.22 BDL247 10912.1 Av 1.48 1.28 1.24 1.11 1.12 BDL247 10912.2 P0.02 0.01 0.01 0.04 <0.01 BDL247 10912.2 Av 1.66 1.57 1.41 1.28 1.38BDL247 10912.6 P 0.45 0.38 0.37 BDL247 10912.6 Av 1.1 1.1 1.13 BDL24710915.1 P <0.01 0.01 <0.01 0.35 0.25 BDL247 10915.1 Av 2.22 2.04 1.881.15 1.29 BDL248 11051.2 P 0.15 0.1 0.01 0.01 0.01 <0.01 0.09 BDL24811051.2 Av 1.21 1.26 1.34 1.29 1.44 1.38 1.66 BDL248 11052.2 P <0.01<0.01 <0.01 0.01 <0.01 0.01 BDL248 11052.2 Av 2.25 2.23 1.94 1.35 1.331.39 BDL248 11053.3 P 0.03 0.02 0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.02 <0.01 BDL24811053.3 Av 1.56 1.5 1.33 1.38 1.44 1.35 2.29 BDL248 11054.3 P 0.38 0.40.21 0.09 BDL248 11054.3 Av 1.11 1.13 1.13 1.18 BDL248 11051.2 P 0.05BDL248 11051.2 Av 1.1 BDL249 11401.2 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01<0.01 0.01 BDL249 11401.2 Av 3.01 2.92 2.73 1.78 1.84 1.71 3.51 BDL24911401.5 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL249 11401.5 Av2.17 1.83 1.52 1.66 1.64 1.41 3.31 BDL249 11402.4 P 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.18<0.01 <0.01 0.04 BDL249 11402.4 Av 1.49 1.44 1.39 1.14 1.64 1.49 1.54BDL249 11403.2 P 0.48 0.19 0.26 BDL249 11403.2 Av 1.12 1.2 1.16 BDL24911404.3 P 0.09 0.07 0.02 0.12 BDL249 11404.3 Av 1.41 1.4 1.26 1.57BDL249 11401.2 P 0.29 0.2 0.17 BDL249 11401.2 Av 1.11 1.1 1.21 BDL24911401.5 P 0.17 0.46 BDL249 11401.5 Av 1.2 1.21 BDL249 11403.2 P 0.040.15 0.35 BDL249 11403.2 Av 1.3 1.13 1.23 BDL249 11404.3 P 0.21 0.040.12 0.35 BDL249 11404.3 Av 1.11 1.27 1.19 1.14 BDL250 10841.3 P 0.010.12 0.17 BDL250 10841.3 Av 1.26 1.23 1.12 BDL250 10842.3 P 0.05 0.23<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.03 BDL250 10842.3 Av 1.16 1.12 1.55 1.5 1.38 1.39BDL250 10846.2 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL250 10846.2 Av 1.36 1.37 1.29BDL250 10846.3 P 0.09 <0.01 <0.01 0.12 BDL250 10846.3 Av 1.33 1.39 1.291.44 BDL250 10841.3 P 0.01 0.1 0.09 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.01 BDL25010841.3 Av 1.23 1.21 1.22 1.82 1.89 1.68 2.37 BDL250 10842.3 P 0.05 0.150.26 <0.01 0.23 0.48 0.02 BDL250 10842.3 Av 1.73 1.59 1.5 1.4 1.26 1.142.03 BDL250 10843.2 P 0.01 0.02 0.04 <0.01 0.01 0.01 <0.01 BDL25010843.2 Av 1.97 1.67 1.61 1.37 1.44 1.37 2.33 BDL250 10846.2 P <0.010.01 <0.01 0.11 0.02 <0.01 0.08 BDL250 10846.2 Av 2.3 1.59 1.69 1.211.33 1.36 1.39 BDL250 10846.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.01BDL250 10846.3 Av 1.92 1.69 1.78 1.66 1.98 1.79 2.83 BDL252 10881.1 P<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.13 0.01 <0.01 0.04 BDL252 10881.1 Av 1.96 1.94 1.721.29 1.48 1.42 1.52 BDL252 10882.1 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.05 0.01 0.010.02 BDL252 10882.1 Av 2.97 2.36 2.12 1.65 1.88 1.77 3.43 BDL252 10882.2P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.03 0.04 <0.01 0.03 BDL252 10882.2 Av 1.89 1.481.43 1.47 1.54 1.45 2.04 BDL252 10882.4 P 0.03 <0.01 0.11 <0.01 0.010.03 0.01 BDL252 10882.4 Av 1.64 1.4 1.3 1.7 1.48 1.31 2.99 BDL25210884.1 P <0.01 0.02 0.13 BDL252 10884.1 Av 1.55 1.31 1.17 BDL58 10281.5P 0.23 0.48 0.16 BDL58 10281.5 Av 1.25 1.18 1.3 BDL58 10282.3 P <0.01<0.01 0.01 0.12 <0.01 <0.01 0.26 BDL58 10282.3 Av 1.79 1.72 1.77 1.271.62 1.62 1.43 BDL62 10682.1 P 0.53 BDL62 10682.1 Av 1.16 BDL62 10684.2P 0.01 0.22 BDL62 10684.2 Av 1.43 1.3 BDL62 10682.1 P 0.37 0.56 BDL6210682.1 Av 1.17 1.16 BDL62 10684.2 P 0.09 BDL62 10684.2 Av 1.13 BDL6410651.5 P 0.08 0.27 BDL64 10651.5 Av 1.26 1.56 BDL64 10653.1 P 0.01 0.060.01 BDL64 10653.1 Av 1.24 1.23 1.53 BDL64 10654.3 P 0.32 0.3 0.2 0.040.09 BDL64 10654.3 Av 1.21 1.38 1.11 1.4 1.4 BDL64 10651.1 P 0.53 BDL6410651.1 Av 1.11 BDL64 10653.1 P 0.11 0.02 0.05 0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.14BDL64 10653.1 Av 1.34 1.57 1.61 1.34 1.42 1.28 1.34 BDL64 10654.3 P 0.01<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.29 BDL64 10654.3 Av 1.41 1.49 1.46 1.281.29 1.23 1.27 BDL64 10651.1 P <0.01 <0.01 0.02 0.15 0.2 BDL64 10651.1Av 1.5 1.31 1.41 1.13 1.44 BDL64 10651.3 P <0.01 <0.01 0.13 <0.01 BDL6410651.3 Av 1.96 1.41 1.15 3.02 BDL64 10653.1 P 0.03 0.3 0.08 BDL6410653.1 Av 1.64 1.18 1.64 BDL64 10654.3 P <0.01 0.22 0.04 BDL64 10654.3Av 1.82 1.23 2.34 BDL79 11041.1 P 0.62 BDL79 11041.1 Av 1.12 BDL7911042.1 P 0.61 BDL79 11042.1 Av 1.13 BDL79 11043.1 P 0.08 BDL79 11043.1Av 1.64 BDL79 11042.3 P 0.33 BDL79 11042.3 Av 1.12 BDL79 11043.1 P 0.040.17 <0.01 0.01 0.37 BDL79 11043.1 Av 1.23 1.19 1.36 1.29 1.19 BDL8110372.2 P <0.01 0.35 0.43 BDL81 10372.2 Av 1.25 1.11 1.13 BDL81 10374.1P 0.3 BDL81 10374.1 Av 1.24 BDL85 10411.3 P 0.08 0.03 BDL85 10411.3 Av1.15 1.12 BDL85 10414.1 P 0.2 0.04 BDL85 10414.1 Av 1.16 1.26 BDL8510414.2 P 0.19 0.02 <0.01 BDL85 10414.2 Av 1.1 1.2 1.35 BDL88 10291.2 P0.01 0.03 0.03 0.07 BDL88 10291.2 Av 1.88 1.59 1.52 1.13 BDL88 10291.4 P0.02 <0.01 <0.01 0.03 <0.01 BDL88 10291.4 Av 1.45 1.43 1.53 1.21 1.28BDL88 10291.5 P 0.12 0.15 0.37 0.67 BDL88 10291.5 Av 1.43 1.35 1.17 1.11BDL88 10293.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.57 BDL88 10293.3 Av 2.76 2.34 2.241.12 BDL88 10291.2 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL88 10291.2 Av 1.64 1.57 1.58BDL88 10291.4 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL88 10291.4 Av 1.67 1.5 1.53 BDL8810291.5 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL88 10291.5 Av 1.8 1.7 1.84 BDL88 10293.3P 0.03 0.05 0.06 BDL88 10293.3 Av 1.19 1.16 1.22 BDL88 10294.2 P <0.010.01 0.02 BDL88 10294.2 Av 1.82 1.66 1.78 BDL90 10924.2 P 0.05 0.01<0.01 0.16 BDL90 10924.2 Av 1.43 1.55 1.48 1.9 BDL90 10925.4 P <0.01<0.01 <0.01 0.07 BDL90 10925.4 Av 1.95 1.91 1.62 2.22 BDL90 10924.2 P0.12 0.2 0.09 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.04 BDL90 10924.2 Av 1.32 1.23 1.22 1.311.31 1.31 1.93 BDL90 10925.4 P 0.04 0.12 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.02 BDL9010925.4 Av 1.25 1.15 1.68 1.61 1.51 2.25 BDL90 10921.6 P 0.1 BDL9010921.6 Av 1.19 BDL90 10924.2 P 0.38 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.03 BDL9010924.2 Av 1.13 1.48 1.6 1.51 1.41 BDL90 10925.4 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL90 10925.4 Av 1.6 1.66 1.8 1.85 1.81 1.71 2.9BDL94 11721.4 P 0.04 0.03 0.07 BDL94 11721.4 Av 1.41 1.39 1.16 BDL9411725.2 P 0.04 BDL94 11725.2 Av 1.16 BDL94 11725.3 P 0.04 BDL94 11725.3Av 1.21 BDL94 11725.5 P 0.14 BDL94 11725.5 Av 1.1 BDL94 11725.3 P 0.01BDL94 11725.3 Av 1.29 Table 21. “P” = P-value; “Av” = ratio between theaverages of event and control. Note that when the average ratio ishigher than “1” the effect of exogenous expression of the gene is anincrease of the desired trait; “Par” = Parameter according to themeasured parameters; “Ev” = event. TP1 = Time point 1; TP2 = Time point2; TP3 = Time point 3.

TABLE 22 Results obtained in a tissue culture assay RGR RGR Roots RootsOf RGR Of Of Coverage Coverage Leaf Root Roots Fresh Dry Gene Ev. Par.TP2 TP3 Area Coverage Length Weight Weight BDL102 10471.1 P 0.08 0.050.11 0.36 BDL102 10471.1 Av 1.58 1.35 1.26 1.11 BDL102 10471.3 P 0.080.15 0.02 0.15 BDL102 10471.3 Av 1.72 1.58 1.57 1.18 BDL102 10472.1 P0.19 0.28 0.25 0.29 BDL102 10472.1 Av 1.28 1.22 1.19 1.18 BDL102 10474.2P 0.33 0.16 0.01 0.02 0.07 0.21 0.26 BDL102 10474.2 Av 1.22 1.38 1.41.44 1.19 1.53 1.5 BDL102 10474.6 P 0.2 0.31 0.14 BDL102 10474.6 Av 1.191.15 1.22 BDL118 10481.2 P 0.13 0.24 <0.01 0.14 0.28 0.03 0.01 BDL11810481.2 Av 1.2 1.19 1.99 1.23 1.15 2.14 1.99 BDL118 10481.5 P 0.01 0.020.01 BDL118 10481.5 Av 1.36 2.03 1.97 BDL118 10483.4 P 0.07 0.03 BDL11810483.4 Av 1.93 1.65 BDL118 10484.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL118 10484.3Av 1.6 1.98 2.01 BDL140 10421.3 P 0.14 0.06 <0.01 <0.01 0.03 0.13 BDL14010421.3 Av 1.45 1.64 1.7 1.68 1.81 1.57 BDL140 10423.1 P 0.21 0.28 0.220.16 0.41 0.33 BDL140 10423.1 Av 1.31 1.25 1.21 1.25 1.17 1.16 BDL14010424.4 P 0.18 <0.01 0.2 0.08 0.45 BDL140 10424.4 Av 1.13 1.66 1.18 1.461.2 BDL152 10431.4 P 0.21 0.24 0.13 0.23 0.02 BDL152 10431.4 Av 1.231.18 1.27 1.18 1.27 BDL152 10432.5 P 0.1 0.04 0.03 BDL152 10432.5 Av1.25 1.31 1.32 BDL152 10434.4 P 0.02 <0.01 <0.01 0.03 BDL152 10434.4 Av1.76 1.51 1.44 1.23 BDL153 10142.2 P 0.04 0.58 BDL153 10142.2 Av 1.571.1 BDL153 10144.1 P 0.09 0.12 0.02 0.09 0.12 0.36 BDL153 10144.1 Av1.51 1.32 1.42 1.35 1.18 1.18 BDL154 10703.1 P 0.38 0.47 0.52 0.44BDL154 10703.1 Av 1.13 1.18 1.15 1.13 BDL154 10703.3 P 0.34 BDL15410703.3 Av 1.17 BDL154 10703.5 P 0.38 0.16 BDL154 10703.5 Av 1.11 1.16BDL154 10703.1 P 0.03 0.05 <0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 BDL154 10703.1 Av1.48 1.55 1.71 1.7 1.37 1.36 1.57 BDL154 10703.5 P 0.1 0.04 0.11 0.01<0.01 0.34 0.11 BDL154 10703.5 Av 1.75 1.7 1.29 1.73 1.59 1.24 1.38BDL154 10703.6 P 0.07 0.04 0.07 0.14 BDL154 10703.6 Av 1.63 1.47 1.451.28 BDL155 9991.2 P 0.22 0.45 BDL155 9991.2 Av 1.44 1.27 BDL155 9993.2P 0.55 BDL155 9993.2 Av 1.45 BDL155 9994.4 P 0.19 BDL155 9994.4 Av 1.13BDL156 10852.6 P 0.41 0.51 0.19 0.09 BDL156 10852.6 Av 1.1 1.12 1.211.22 BDL156 10852.7 P 0.35 BDL156 10852.7 Av 1.13 BDL156 10853.6 P 0.580.25 0.07 0.07 0.16 0.28 0.04 BDL156 10853.6 Av 1.13 1.24 1.21 1.33 1.191.2 1.26 BDL156 10852.6 P 0.05 0.59 0.33 0.35 0.21 BDL156 10852.6 Av1.29 1.13 1.16 1.12 1.24 BDL156 10853.6 P 0.42 0.25 <0.01 0.05 0.06<0.01 0.01 BDL156 10853.6 Av 1.29 1.69 1.97 1.83 1.43 1.78 2.26 BDL15610854.4 P 0.03 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL156 10854.4 Av 1.59 1.871.76 1.53 1.61 1.94 BDL156 10855.3 P 0.32 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.460.05 BDL156 10855.3 Av 1.17 1.78 1.49 1.99 1.44 1.18 1.42 BDL158 9973.3P 0.26 BDL158 9973.3 Av 1.22 BDL158 9971.3 P 0.12 0.45 0.03 0.3 BDL1589971.3 Av 1.27 1.11 1.34 1.11 BDL158 9973.1 P 0.04 0.1 BDL158 9973.1 Av1.25 1.24 BDL158 9973.3 P 0.04 0.27 0.32 BDL158 9973.3 Av 1.43 1.23 1.16BDL158 9974.2 P 0.01 0.03 0.34 <0.01 0.49 BDL158 9974.2 Av 1.48 1.411.14 1.45 1.1 BDL158 9974.3 P 0.08 0.05 0.02 <0.01 0.01 0.01 BDL1589974.3 Av 1.5 1.49 1.54 1.54 1.5 1.54 BDL158 9971.3 P 0.33 0.06 0.13<0.01 BDL158 9971.3 Av 1.13 1.25 1.24 1.46 BDL158 9973.1 P 0.09 0.250.02 0.45 0.29 0.16 BDL158 9973.1 Av 1.22 1.22 1.37 1.13 1.13 1.2 BDL1589973.3 P 0.02 0.1 0.03 <0.01 BDL158 9973.3 Av 1.62 1.43 1.42 1.4 BDL1589974.2 P 0.06 0.02 0.03 BDL158 9974.2 Av 1.21 1.24 1.32 BDL158 9974.3 P0.51 BDL158 9974.3 Av 1.11 BDL160 10011.5 P 0.24 <0.01 0.53 BDL16010011.5 Av 1.23 1.48 1.33 BDL160 10011.6 P 0.51 0.66 BDL160 10011.6 Av1.18 1.1 BDL160 10011.7 P 0.56 BDL160 10011.7 Av 1.28 BDL160 10015.1 P0.03 0.12 BDL160 10015.1 Av 1.57 1.25 BDL160 10011.5 P 0.61 0.38 0.42BDL160 10011.5 Av 1.11 1.14 1.14 BDL160 10013.1 P 0.32 BDL160 10013.1 Av1.16 BDL160 10014.9 P 0.52 0.37 BDL160 10014.9 Av 1.16 1.18 BDL16010015.2 P 0.05 0.1 0.11 BDL160 10015.2 Av 1.28 1.29 1.42 BDL167 10042.3P 0.12 BDL167 10042.3 Av 1.17 BDL167 10043.1 P 0.58 0.13 0.21 0.23BDL167 10043.1 Av 1.17 1.16 1.25 1.18 BDL167 10043.2 P 0.18 0.34 0.09BDL167 10043.2 Av 1.14 1.1 1.19 BDL167 10043.3 P 0.1 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01<0.01 BDL167 10043.3 Av 1.27 1.67 1.54 1.79 1.46 BDL167 10044.2 P 0.05<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.08 0.61 BDL167 10044.2 Av 1.26 1.48 1.38 1.55 1.21.12 BDL167 10043.1 P <0.01 0.17 0.04 0.16 0.14 0.06 BDL167 10043.1 Av1.63 1.27 1.4 1.3 1.17 1.6 BDL167 10044.2 P 0.01 BDL167 10044.2 Av 1.39BDL168 9881.4 P <0.01 0.14 0.08 0.05 BDL168 9881.4 Av 1.74 1.47 1.421.21 BDL168 9882.1 P 0.08 0.69 BDL168 9882.1 Av 1.85 1.11 BDL168 9884.1P <0.01 0.11 0.34 0.22 BDL168 9884.1 Av 1.84 1.29 1.2 1.15 BDL16910744.2 P 0.02 0.17 0.13 0.24 BDL169 10744.2 Av 1.34 1.21 1.22 1.16BDL169 10747.1 P 0.39 0.4 BDL169 10747.1 Av 1.1 1.11 BDL169 10747.5 P0.04 0.02 0.02 0.07 BDL169 10747.5 Av 1.59 1.41 1.37 1.28 BDL171 10661.2P 0.03 0.01 0.19 <0.01 0.01 0.06 0.02 BDL171 10661.2 Av 2.26 2.17 1.282.22 1.3 1.73 2.47 BDL171 10661.5 P 0.14 0.32 0.04 0.02 <0.01 BDL17110661.5 Av 1.33 1.19 1.38 1.35 2.02 BDL171 10662.3 P 0.32 0.19 0.56BDL171 10662.3 Av 1.12 1.18 1.13 BDL171 10663.3 P 0.45 0.39 BDL17110663.3 Av 1.14 1.19 BDL171 10664.1 P 0.26 0.25 0.1 0.46 0.03 0.03BDL171 10664.1 Av 1.33 1.24 1.35 1.1 1.39 1.89 BDL173 9951.2 P 0.37 0.27BDL173 9951.2 Av 1.32 1.43 BDL173 9952.1 P 0.04 0.02 0.01 0.08 BDL1739952.1 Av 2.68 1.72 1.61 1.21 BDL173 9952.2 P 0.15 0.56 BDL173 9952.2 Av1.44 1.11 BDL173 9954.3 P 0.14 BDL173 9954.3 Av 1.46 BDL174 11082.1 P0.29 0.39 0.43 0.05 BDL174 11082.1 Av 1.24 1.15 1.14 1.26 BDL174 11083.1P 0.07 0.11 0.41 0.05 0.15 0.48 0.37 BDL174 11083.1 Av 1.76 1.43 1.131.42 1.21 1.1 1.2 BDL174 11083.2 P 0.17 0.25 0.13 0.09 0.04 0.2 0.4BDL174 11083.2 Av 1.27 1.36 1.26 1.38 1.44 1.21 1.19 BDL174 11084.1 P0.04 0.06 <0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.06 0.05 BDL174 11084.1 Av 2.13 1.94 2.011.96 1.42 2.06 2.27 BDL174 11085.1 P <0.01 <0.01 0.1 <0.01 <0.01 0.20.24 BDL174 11085.1 Av 2.66 2.13 1.27 2.17 2 1.24 1.37 BDL174 11083.2 P0.19 0.12 0.29 BDL174 11083.2 Av 1.15 1.2 1.14 BDL174 11084.1 P 0.6BDL174 11084.1 Av 1.1 BDL174 11085.1 P 0.05 0.32 BDL174 11085.1 Av 1.421.14 BDL176 9891.4 P 0.67 0.01 0.47 0.06 BDL176 9891.4 Av 1.11 1.45 1.172.02 BDL176 9893.2 P 0.21 0.4 0.22 0.26 0.15 BDL176 9893.2 Av 1.37 1.221.21 1.25 1.38 BDL176 9893.3 P 0.47 0.23 0.12 0.14 0.48 BDL176 9893.3 Av1.17 1.31 1.3 1.29 1.22 BDL177 10521.3 P 0.66 0.34 0.28 0.06 BDL17710521.3 Av 1.1 1.15 1.17 1.3 BDL181 11293.6 P 0.59 0.1 0.37 0.45 0.390.37 BDL181 11293.6 Av 1.15 1.3 1.24 1.15 1.17 1.26 BDL181 11294.7 P0.04 0.12 0.11 0.1 BDL181 11294.7 Av 1.36 1.28 1.26 1.38 BDL181 11293.1P 0.25 0.4 0.02 0.05 0.02 BDL181 11293.1 Av 1.19 1.11 1.22 1.59 1.58BDL181 11293.6 P 0.23 0.15 <0.01 0.09 0.03 <0.01 <0.01 BDL181 11293.6 Av1.23 1.22 1.34 1.25 1.18 1.48 1.45 BDL181 11294.7 P 0.02 0.21 0.3 0.050.01 0.57 BDL181 11294.7 Av 1.55 1.26 1.11 1.3 1.23 1.1 BDL182 10691.8 P0.42 0.06 0.01 BDL182 10691.8 Av 1.15 1.53 2.11 BDL182 10692.2 P 0.530.2 0.28 0.07 0.28 0.15 BDL182 10692.2 Av 1.12 1.21 1.21 1.28 1.47 1.93BDL182 10692.3 P 0.63 0.3 0.43 BDL182 10692.3 Av 1.13 1.21 1.1 BDL18210693.3 P 0.02 0.03 0.22 <0.01 0.17 0.01 BDL182 10693.3 Av 1.37 1.551.25 1.62 1.41 1.88 BDL182 10693.5 P 0.02 <0.01 0.32 <0.01 0.13 0.060.01 BDL182 10693.5 Av 1.47 1.72 1.19 1.8 1.13 1.38 1.91 BDL183 9943.4 P0.19 0.3 0.48 BDL183 9943.4 Av 1.3 1.16 1.13 BDL183 9944.4 P 0.02 0.520.46 0.06 0.44 BDL183 9944.4 Av 1.37 1.15 1.15 1.2 1.16 BDL189 11353.3 P0.17 0.18 0.18 0.46 BDL189 11353.3 Av 1.18 1.16 1.2 1.1 BDL189 11351.2 P0.43 0.4 BDL189 11351.2 Av 1.1 1.17 BDL189 11353.3 P 0.24 0.22 0.11 0.33BDL189 11353.3 Av 1.15 1.11 1.22 1.1 BDL189 11353.5 P 0.65 BDL18911353.5 Av 1.1 BDL189 11355.4 P 0.22 0.28 0.32 BDL189 11355.4 Av 1.111.36 1.13 BDL196 10242.2 P 0.28 0.49 BDL196 10242.2 Av 1.13 1.15 BDL19610243.4 P <0.01 0.12 0.12 0.13 0.17 0.57 BDL196 10243.4 Av 1.45 1.361.27 1.34 1.17 1.11 BDL196 10244.1 P 0.16 0.43 0.28 0.02 BDL196 10244.1Av 1.65 1.27 1.27 1.45 BDL196 10242.2 P 0.47 BDL196 10242.2 Av 1.1BDL196 10243.3 P 0.6 0.43 0.23 BDL196 10243.3 Av 1.1 1.13 1.23 BDL19610243.4 P 0.51 0.15 <0.01 0.11 0.16 0.13 0.03 BDL196 10243.4 Av 1.121.23 1.65 1.27 1.18 1.42 1.69 BDL197 11362.2 P 0.33 0.03 0.18 0.14 0.38BDL197 11362.2 Av 1.18 1.35 1.32 1.24 1.19 BDL197 11363.1 P 0.23 0.12<0.01 BDL197 11363.1 Av 1.25 1.38 1.53 BDL197 11363.6 P 0.39 0.01 0.05<0.01 0.04 0.02 0.04 BDL197 11363.6 Av 1.19 1.59 1.31 1.77 1.36 1.411.61 BDL197 11364.1 P 0.04 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.08 <0.01 BDL197 11364.1Av 1.67 1.63 1.85 1.48 1.44 1.91 BDL197 11364.5 P 0.02 0.47 0.11 0.04BDL197 11364.5 Av 1.37 1.16 1.18 1.42 BDL197 11363.1 P 0.1 0.53 0.17BDL197 11363.1 Av 1.12 1.1 1.23 BDL197 11363.6 P 0.11 0.03 0.01 <0.01<0.01 0.06 0.04 BDL197 11363.6 Av 1.39 1.49 1.3 1.58 1.24 1.45 1.55BDL197 11364.1 P 0.3 0.53 0.62 0.07 BDL197 11364.1 Av 1.18 1.11 1.161.75 BDL197 11364.5 P 0.12 0.49 BDL197 11364.5 Av 1.12 1.13 BDL2019961.2 P 0.47 0.57 0.47 BDL201 9961.2 Av 1.13 1.1 1.15 BDL201 9961.3 P0.13 BDL201 9961.3 Av 1.39 BDL201 9961.4 P 0.19 0.41 BDL201 9961.4 Av1.3 1.14 BDL201 9964.3 P 0.17 0.05 0.27 BDL201 9964.3 Av 1.25 1.21 1.15BDL203 9831.14 P 0.62 0.42 BDL203 9831.14 Av 1.13 1.27 BDL203 9831.7 P0.11 BDL203 9831.7 Av 1.22 BDL203 9833.6 P 0.71 BDL203 9833.6 Av 1.14BDL203 9835.2 P 0.33 BDL203 9835.2 Av 1.14 BDL220 10331.2 P <0.01 0.06BDL220 10331.2 Av 1.51 1.25 BDL220 10331.5 P 0.22 <0.01 0.1 0.27 0.050.11 BDL220 10331.5 Av 1.22 1.81 1.28 1.11 1.97 1.6 BDL220 10333.5 P0.47 0.41 BDL220 10333.5 Av 1.16 1.18 BDL220 10334.2 P 0.34 0.35 BDL22010334.2 Av 1.13 1.14 BDL221 10341.1 P 0.19 BDL221 10341.1 Av 1.3 BDL22110341.3 P 0.01 0.01 <0.01 BDL221 10341.3 Av 1.5 1.92 2.18 BDL221 10341.4P 0.02 <0.01 0.01 BDL221 10341.4 Av 1.29 1.98 2.04 BDL221 10343.3 P 0.030.01 0.07 <0.01 <0.01 BDL221 10343.3 Av 1.55 1.6 1.21 1.6 1.41 BDL22110344.3 P 0.41 BDL221 10344.3 Av 1.11 BDL221 10341.1 P 0.15 0.59 BDL22110341.1 Av 1.27 1.16 BDL221 10342.1 P <0.01 <0.01 0.17 <0.01 <0.01 0.250.42 BDL221 10342.1 Av 3.03 2.06 1.22 1.88 1.52 1.24 1.24 BDL221 10343.1P 0.01 <0.01 0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.15 0.33 BDL221 10343.1 Av 1.8 1.61 1.621.6 1.41 1.46 1.51 BDL221 10343.3 P 0.01 0.02 0.03 <0.01 <0.01 BDL22110343.3 Av 3.03 2.69 1.4 2.71 1.92 BDL221 10343.4 P 0.03 0.08 0.07 <0.010.01 0.14 0.08 BDL221 10343.4 Av 2.15 2.07 1.51 2.07 1.49 1.44 1.53BDL221 10344.3 P 0.01 0.07 0.02 0.02 0.09 0.17 0.12 BDL221 10344.3 Av1.67 1.49 1.49 1.48 1.23 1.39 1.33 BDL223 10791.1 P 0.33 BDL223 10791.1Av 1.13 BDL223 10793.5 P 0.1 0.01 0.01 0.02 BDL223 10793.5 Av 1.21 1.321.38 1.33 BDL223 10793.8 P 0.21 BDL223 10793.8 Av 1.18 BDL223 10796.1 P0.58 0.41 BDL223 10796.1 Av 1.1 1.12 BDL223 10796.2 P 0.41 0.33 0.340.16 BDL223 10796.2 Av 1.11 1.13 1.14 1.4 BDL223 10791.1 P 0.03 0.020.05 0.06 0.3 BDL223 10791.1 Av 1.38 1.34 1.43 1.3 1.24 BDL223 10793.3 P0.34 <0.01 0.08 0.01 0.24 0.16 BDL223 10793.3 Av 1.45 1.64 1.62 1.481.15 1.39 BDL223 10793.5 P 0.47 0.23 0.44 0.15 0.04 BDL223 10793.5 Av1.13 1.29 1.11 1.34 1.31 BDL223 10793.8 P <0.01 <0.01 0.07 <0.01 <0.010.21 BDL223 10793.8 Av 1.75 1.71 1.26 1.72 1.47 1.26 BDL223 10796.1 P0.01 0.03 0.01 0.07 0.3 BDL223 10796.1 Av 1.47 1.31 1.61 1.29 1.2 BDL22410451.5 P 0.17 0.21 0.2 BDL224 10451.5 Av 1.19 1.28 1.25 BDL224 10451.7P 0.11 0.16 <0.01 0.01 0.35 0.11 0.19 BDL224 10451.7 Av 1.48 1.67 1.851.69 1.13 1.48 1.29 BDL224 10451.8 P 0.5 BDL224 10451.8 Av 1.13 BDL22610861.2 P 0.41 0.41 0.15 0.08 BDL226 10861.2 Av 1.18 1.1 1.26 1.26BDL226 10861.4 P 0.18 0.03 0.04 0.23 BDL226 10861.4 Av 1.27 1.37 1.281.2 BDL226 10862.2 P 0.56 0.23 0.19 BDL226 10862.2 Av 1.11 1.2 1.18BDL227 11491.1 P <0.01 0.12 0.25 BDL227 11491.1 Av 1.59 1.25 1.2 BDL22711491.3 P 0.01 0.05 0.06 <0.01 <0.01 0.42 0.35 BDL227 11491.3 Av 1.871.71 1.29 1.66 1.52 1.12 1.23 BDL227 11491.5 P 0.01 0.03 0.04 <0.01<0.01 0.36 0.15 BDL227 11491.5 Av 2.24 2 1.34 1.94 1.58 1.24 1.34 BDL22711492.5 P <0.01 0.03 <0.01 <0.01 0.02 0.13 0.12 BDL227 11492.5 Av 2.091.71 1.64 1.72 1.39 2.07 1.86 BDL227 11493.5 P <0.01 0.01 <0.01 <0.01<0.01 0.16 0.08 BDL227 11493.5 Av 2.13 2.02 1.78 2.05 1.64 1.55 1.73BDL230 10671.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL230 10671.3 Av 1.95 1.84 2.02BDL231 11111.1 P 0.58 0.12 <0.01 0.1 0.51 0.14 0.55 BDL231 11111.1 Av1.1 1.24 1.5 1.27 1.1 1.24 1.1 BDL231 11111.2 P 0.24 0.09 <0.01 0.090.16 BDL231 11111.2 Av 1.18 1.24 1.31 1.27 1.2 BDL231 11111.3 P 0.330.08 <0.01 0.03 0.31 0.35 BDL231 11111.3 Av 1.13 1.36 1.38 1.39 1.15 1.2BDL231 11112.2 P <0.01 0.01 0.01 <0.01 0.05 0.52 BDL231 11112.2 Av 1.891.61 1.3 1.55 1.27 1.21 BDL231 11116.5 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.230.21 0.05 BDL231 11116.5 Av 1.97 1.79 1.74 1.78 1.18 1.28 1.45 BDL23111111.1 P 0.09 0.31 <0.01 0.38 0.51 0.1 0.16 BDL231 11111.1 Av 1.25 1.181.41 1.16 1.1 1.23 1.2 BDL231 11111.2 P 0.02 0.2 0.01 0.32 0.07 0.28BDL231 11111.2 Av 1.31 1.19 1.4 1.17 1.46 1.24 BDL231 11112.2 P 0.1BDL231 11112.2 Av 1.42 BDL232 10904.1 P 0.6 0.26 0.33 0.16 0.11 0.71 0.5BDL232 10904.1 Av 1.25 1.36 1.29 1.44 1.29 1.14 1.37 BDL232 10905.1 P0.27 0.24 0.3 BDL232 10905.1 Av 1.18 1.26 1.23 BDL232 10906.3 P 0.480.24 0.02 0.07 0.06 0.14 0.13 BDL232 10906.3 Av 1.37 1.63 1.61 1.75 1.441.48 1.77 BDL232 10902.2 P 0.02 0.22 0.43 BDL232 10902.2 Av 1.65 1.241.12 BDL232 10905.1 P 0.18 BDL232 10905.1 Av 1.28 BDL232 10906.4 P 0.06BDL232 10906.4 Av 1.15 BDL233 10822.4 P 0.28 BDL233 10822.4 Av 1.13BDL233 10824.2 P 0.05 BDL233 10824.2 Av 1.25 BDL233 10825.3 P 0.1 BDL23310825.3 Av 1.21 BDL233 10825.4 P <0.01 0.01 <0.01 0.03 BDL233 10825.4 Av1.78 1.49 1.43 1.29 BDL233 10822.4 P 0.04 0.19 0.26 0.37 BDL233 10822.4Av 1.37 1.21 1.18 1.24 BDL233 10824.1 P 0.43 0.48 BDL233 10824.1 Av 1.111.1 BDL233 10824.2 P 0.38 0.3 0.19 <0.01 BDL233 10824.2 Av 1.16 1.161.29 1.5 BDL233 10825.4 P 0.22 0.02 0.18 0.04 0.01 0.42 BDL233 10825.4Av 1.23 1.44 1.23 1.46 1.47 1.14 BDL235 11412.2 P 0.34 0.33 0.4 BDL23511412.2 Av 1.14 1.17 1.11 BDL235 11413.2 P 0.07 0.06 0.03 BDL235 11413.2Av 1.43 1.39 1.38 BDL235 11413.3 P 0.51 0.3 BDL235 11413.3 Av 1.15 1.18BDL235 11411.2 P 0.08 0.62 BDL235 11411.2 Av 1.16 1.15 BDL235 11413.2 P<0.01 0.08 0.12 0.15 BDL235 11413.2 Av 1.61 1.33 1.22 1.15 BDL23511413.3 P 0.09 BDL235 11413.3 Av 1.16 BDL237 10892.1 P 0.05 0.14 BDL23710892.1 Av 1.43 1.33 BDL237 10892.2 P 0.18 0.19 0.4 0.18 BDL237 10892.2Av 1.23 1.16 1.14 1.18 BDL237 10893.1 P 0.23 0.29 0.51 0.28 0.09 BDL23710893.1 Av 1.2 1.17 1.11 1.19 1.25 BDL237 10895.3 P 0.01 0.01 <0.01<0.01 <0.01 0.09 0.05 BDL237 10895.3 Av 2.68 2.3 1.85 2.32 1.77 1.591.71 BDL237 10896.1 P 0.71 0.57 0.27 BDL237 10896.1 Av 1.11 1.13 1.21BDL238 10951.4 P 0.51 BDL238 10951.4 Av 1.13 BDL238 10952.3 P 0.12 0.120.25 0.09 BDL238 10952.3 Av 1.3 1.29 1.25 1.32 BDL238 10953.1 P 0.370.37 BDL238 10953.1 Av 1.14 1.15 BDL238 10954.2 P 0.52 0.61 0.5 BDL23810954.2 Av 1.13 1.11 1.12 BDL238 10954.3 P 0.67 BDL238 10954.3 Av 1.12BDL240 10802.2 P 0.47 BDL240 10802.2 Av 1.1 BDL240 10806.6 P 0.33 0.430.27 0.19 BDL240 10806.6 Av 1.28 1.19 1.2 1.18 BDL240 10802.2 P 0.38 0.1BDL240 10802.2 Av 1.17 1.24 BDL240 10803.5 P 0.48 0.17 BDL240 10803.5 Av1.12 1.18 BDL240 10806.6 P 0.01 0.03 0.05 <0.01 0.01 0.15 0.26 BDL24010806.6 Av 2.85 2.11 1.38 1.97 1.44 1.32 1.34 BDL241 10875.1 P 0.1 0.46BDL241 10875.1 Av 1.25 1.13 BDL241 10873.1 P 0.22 0.61 BDL241 10873.1 Av1.19 1.11 BDL241 10874.2 P 0.45 BDL241 10874.2 Av 1.11 BDL241 10874.3 P0.54 0.05 0.01 0.03 0.05 0.08 0.01 BDL241 10874.3 Av 1.1 1.43 1.47 1.531.32 1.21 1.55 BDL241 10875.1 P 0.09 0.53 BDL241 10875.1 Av 1.36 1.13BDL242 10731.3 P <0.01 0.2 0.19 0.12 0.2 BDL242 10731.3 Av 1.38 1.211.19 1.21 1.22 BDL242 10731.5 P 0.1 0.31 0.32 BDL242 10731.5 Av 1.341.16 1.15 BDL242 10737.1 P 0.32 BDL242 10737.1 Av 1.14 BDL242 10731.3 P<0.01 0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.05 0.04 BDL242 10731.3 Av 1.75 1.62 2.151.62 1.39 2.12 2.23 BDL242 10731.5 P 0.06 BDL242 10731.5 Av 1.29 BDL24210731.7 P <0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.04 BDL242 10731.7 Av 1.851.49 1.45 1.47 1.28 1.64 1.86 BDL242 10737.2 P 0.47 0.23 <0.01 0.07 0.05<0.01 0.01 BDL242 10737.2 Av 1.26 1.38 1.86 1.43 1.32 1.91 2.05 BDL24510811.2 P 0.54 0.17 0.08 0.21 0.3 BDL245 10811.2 Av 1.1 1.22 1.28 1.161.14 BDL245 10813.3 P 0.09 BDL245 10813.3 Av 1.22 BDL245 10816.3 P 0.14BDL245 10816.3 Av 1.18 BDL247 10912.1 P 0.08 0.02 0.01 BDL247 10912.1 Av1.31 1.4 1.37 BDL247 10912.2 P 0.08 BDL247 10912.2 Av 1.22 BDL24710915.1 P 0.45 0.22 0.14 0.02 0.53 BDL247 10915.1 Av 1.19 1.2 1.28 1.41.12 BDL247 10911.1 P 0.15 0.1 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.3 0.23 BDL247 10911.1 Av1.96 1.8 1.6 1.79 1.45 1.38 1.5 BDL247 10912.1 P 0.32 0.4 0.24 0.25 0.130.32 0.14 BDL247 10912.1 Av 1.15 1.22 1.2 1.24 1.21 1.27 1.56 BDL24710912.2 P 0.04 0.01 0.03 <0.01 <0.01 0.09 0.3 BDL247 10912.2 Av 1.731.74 1.36 1.81 1.62 1.41 1.35 BDL247 10912.6 P 0.61 0.57 0.39 0.21 0.48BDL247 10912.6 Av 1.11 1.11 1.13 1.37 1.3 BDL247 10915.1 P 0.23 0.14<0.01 0.03 0.08 0.02 0.06 BDL247 10915.1 Av 1.47 1.52 1.81 1.54 1.3 1.741.58 BDL248 11051.2 P <0.01 0.01 0.03 0.02 <0.01 0.21 BDL248 11051.2 Av1.61 1.45 1.36 1.43 1.42 1.22 BDL248 11052.2 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01<0.01 0.04 0.01 BDL248 11052.2 Av 1.89 1.68 1.89 1.7 1.44 1.74 1.81BDL248 11053.3 P <0.01 <0.01 0.07 <0.01 0.03 0.46 0.65 BDL248 11053.3 Av2.04 1.62 1.29 1.57 1.34 1.13 1.14 BDL248 11054.3 P 0.15 0.15 0.24 0.04BDL248 11054.3 Av 1.18 1.18 1.19 1.29 BDL248 11051.2 P 0.18 BDL24811051.2 Av 1.1 BDL248 11054.2 P 0.18 BDL248 11054.2 Av 1.1 BDL24911401.2 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL249 11401.2 Av3.19 2.43 2.68 2.35 1.67 2.55 3.02 BDL249 11401.5 P <0.01 0.01 0.02<0.01 0.02 0.39 0.44 BDL249 11401.5 Av 2.63 1.94 1.4 1.83 1.3 1.19 1.23BDL249 11402.4 P <0.01 <0.01 0.03 <0.01 <0.01 0.03 0.1 BDL249 11402.4 Av2.42 1.99 1.38 2.02 1.65 1.37 1.43 BDL249 11403.2 P 0.46 0.34 0.27 0.20.56 BDL249 11403.2 Av 1.22 1.17 1.25 1.21 1.11 BDL249 11404.3 P 0.010.07 0.23 0.22 BDL249 11404.3 Av 1.43 1.22 1.19 1.19 BDL249 11401.5 P0.31 0.45 BDL249 11401.5 Av 1.1 1.11 BDL249 11404.3 P 0.03 0.22 0.2 0.04BDL249 11404.3 Av 1.33 1.18 1.18 1.23 BDL250 10842.3 P <0.01 0.01 0.21<0.01 0.02 0.34 BDL250 10842.3 Av 1.69 1.54 1.15 1.56 1.29 1.24 BDL25010846.2 P 0.01 <0.01 0.29 <0.01 0.05 0.4 0.21 BDL250 10846.2 Av 1.431.41 1.12 1.45 1.25 1.19 1.33 BDL250 10846.3 P 0.02 0.36 0.05 BDL25010846.3 Av 1.37 1.11 1.26 BDL250 10841.3 P 0.01 0.02 0.17 <0.01 <0.01BDL250 10841.3 Av 1.99 1.66 1.22 1.61 1.62 BDL250 10842.3 P 0.23 0.520.12 0.44 0.41 0.59 BDL250 10842.3 Av 1.57 1.28 1.45 1.22 1.6 1.27BDL250 10843.2 P 0.03 0.07 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.1 BDL250 10843.2 Av1.85 1.67 1.55 1.62 1.37 1.53 1.6 BDL250 10846.2 P 0.04 <0.01 <0.01<0.01 <0.01 0.45 0.67 BDL250 10846.2 Av 1.46 1.68 1.58 1.7 1.43 1.221.15 BDL250 10846.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.05 0.03 BDL25010846.3 Av 2.79 2.32 1.76 2.28 1.84 1.8 1.87 BDL252 10881.1 P 0.01 <0.01<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.09 0.19 BDL252 10881.1 Av 2.1 1.87 1.68 1.9 1.481.43 1.68 BDL252 10882.1 P 0.01 0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.18 0.18 BDL25210882.1 Av 3.11 2.51 1.97 2.43 1.82 1.4 1.51 BDL252 10882.2 P 0.05 <0.010.04 <0.01 0.01 0.62 BDL252 10882.2 Av 1.87 1.74 1.35 1.72 1.44 1.11BDL252 10882.4 P 0.01 0.01 0.17 0.01 0.38 BDL252 10882.4 Av 2.06 1.621.24 1.52 1.13 BDL252 10884.1 P 0.5 0.24 0.24 BDL252 10884.1 Av 1.1 1.221.3 BDL58 10281.5 P 0.07 0.46 0.15 0.55 0.02 BDL58 10281.5 Av 1.32 1.151.18 1.14 1.37 BDL58 10282.3 P <0.01 0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01BDL58 10282.3 Av 1.94 2.18 1.77 2.29 1.81 1.79 1.83 BDL58 10285.3 P 0.06BDL58 10285.3 Av 1.21 BDL62 10682.1 P 0.31 0.43 0.12 0.4 BDL62 10682.1Av 1.35 1.19 1.46 1.33 BDL62 10684.2 P 0.43 0.33 0.08 0.58 BDL62 10684.2Av 1.17 1.23 1.26 1.11 BDL62 10684.5 P 0.41 0.64 0.31 0.67 0.64 BDL6210684.5 Av 1.14 1.11 1.15 1.13 1.13 BDL64 10651.5 P 0.02 0.39 0.07 0.170.26 BDL64 10651.5 Av 1.77 1.14 1.19 1.54 1.52 BDL64 10653.1 P 0.14<0.01 0.13 <0.01 0.03 BDL64 10653.1 Av 1.21 1.62 1.24 1.42 1.51 BDL6410653.3 P 0.01 BDL64 10653.3 Av 1.25 BDL64 10654.3 P 0.15 0.23 0.06 0.02<0.01 0.37 0.27 BDL64 10654.3 Av 1.53 1.6 1.5 1.71 1.55 1.45 1.44 BDL6410651.1 P 0.5 0.31 0.16 BDL64 10651.1 Av 1.13 1.45 1.91 BDL64 10651.2 P0.62 BDL64 10651.2 Av 1.13 BDL64 10651.5 P 0.48 BDL64 10651.5 Av 1.15BDL64 10653.1 P 0.01 0.02 0.01 <0.01 0.02 0.05 0.03 BDL64 10653.1 Av2.18 2.28 1.69 2.43 1.25 2.27 3.13 BDL64 10654.3 P <0.01 <0.01 0.02<0.01 0.03 0.01 <0.01 BDL64 10654.3 Av 1.78 1.9 1.46 1.97 1.2 1.7 2.53BDL64 10651.1 P 0.11 BDL64 10651.1 Av 1.27 BDL64 10651.3 P 0.14 0.320.46 BDL64 10651.3 Av 1.43 1.22 1.14 BDL79 11042.3 P 0.5 BDL79 11042.3Av 1.1 BDL79 11042.3 P 0.44 0.28 0.04 BDL79 11042.3 Av 1.18 1.26 1.36BDL79 11042.7 P 0.4 0.55 BDL79 11042.7 Av 1.12 1.11 BDL79 11043.1 P 0.270.03 0.25 0.03 0.29 0.22 BDL79 11043.1 Av 1.28 1.35 1.3 1.35 1.18 1.22BDL85 10411.1 P 0.74 0.55 0.42 BDL85 10411.1 Av 1.1 1.14 1.16 BDL8510411.3 P 0.14 0.01 0.03 0.17 BDL85 10411.3 Av 1.24 1.28 1.32 1.13 BDL8510412.2 P 0.44 0.06 0.15 BDL85 10412.2 Av 1.1 1.22 1.24 BDL85 10414.1 P0.01 0.05 0.02 0.08 0.38 0.47 BDL85 10414.1 Av 1.3 1.29 1.39 1.18 1.171.11 BDL85 10414.2 P 0.27 <0.01 0.07 0.07 <0.01 0.08 BDL85 10414.2 Av1.15 1.42 1.28 1.17 1.55 1.5 BDL88 10291.2 P 0.31 0.15 0.02 0.08 0.080.06 0.11 BDL88 10291.2 Av 1.26 1.33 1.45 1.36 1.24 1.35 1.36 BDL8810291.4 P 0.01 0.02 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.23 0.25 BDL88 10291.4 Av 1.721.57 1.54 1.62 1.42 1.44 1.35 BDL88 10291.5 P 0.59 0.44 0.48 0.38 BDL8810291.5 Av 1.13 1.17 1.13 1.17 BDL88 10293.3 P 0.14 0.28 <0.01 0.11 0.260.16 0.08 BDL88 10293.3 Av 1.34 1.35 2.15 1.36 1.19 1.58 1.97 BDL8810291.2 P 0.16 0.05 <0.01 0.01 0.21 0.33 0.47 BDL88 10291.2 Av 1.32 1.451.56 1.48 1.18 1.17 1.16 BDL88 10291.4 P <0.01 BDL88 10291.4 Av 1.49BDL88 10291.5 P <0.01 0.15 0.38 BDL88 10291.5 Av 1.84 1.25 1.22 BDL8810293.3 P 0.02 0.47 BDL88 10293.3 Av 1.23 1.15 BDL88 10294.2 P <0.01 0.30.55 BDL88 10294.2 Av 1.76 1.23 1.16 BDL90 10921.3 P 0.22 BDL90 10921.3Av 1.18 BDL90 10921.6 P 0.09 BDL90 10921.6 Av 1.28 BDL90 10924.2 P 0.060.04 <0.01 <0.01 BDL90 10924.2 Av 2 1.75 1.73 1.5 BDL90 10924.4 P 0.33BDL90 10924.4 Av 1.12 BDL90 10925.4 P 0.02 0.03 <0.01 <0.01 BDL9010925.4 Av 2.27 1.81 1.76 1.46 BDL90 10923.4 P 0.27 BDL90 10923.4 Av1.17 BDL90 10924.2 P 0.06 0.28 0.22 0.33 0.06 BDL90 10924.2 Av 1.43 1.261.19 1.22 1.3 BDL90 10925.4 P 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.01 BDL90 10925.4 Av 1.71.58 1.54 1.43 BDL90 10921.6 P 0.75 0.04 0.42 0.02 0.13 BDL90 10921.6 Av1.11 1.32 1.24 1.41 1.28 BDL90 10923.4 P 0.51 0.12 0.58 BDL90 10923.4 Av1.15 1.25 1.15 BDL90 10924.2 P 0.16 0.01 0.28 0.01 <0.01 BDL90 10924.2Av 1.4 1.65 1.18 1.7 1.54 BDL90 10925.4 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.010.05 0.03 BDL90 10925.4 Av 2.34 2.48 1.88 2.4 1.61 1.55 1.78 BDL9411721.4 P 0.45 0.09 0.26 BDL94 11721.4 Av 1.11 1.29 1.16 BDL94 11725.3 P0.17 BDL94 11725.3 Av 1.2 BDL94 11725.3 P 0.31 BDL94 11725.3 Av 1.29Table 22. “P” = P-value; “Av” = ratio between the averages of event andcontrol. Note that when the average ratio is higher than “1” the effectof exogenous expression of the gene is an increase of the desired trait;“Par” = Parameter according to the measured parameters; “Ev” = event.TP1 = Time point 1; TP2 = Time point 2; TP3 = Time point 3; RGR =relative growth rate.

Greenhouse assays—Table 23 specifies the parameters that were measuredin the greenhouse assays and which are presented in Tables 24, 25, 26and 27. In cases where a certain event appears more than once, the eventwas tested in several independent experiments. The parameters weremeasured as follows:

The plants were analyzed for their overall size, growth rate, flowering,seed yield, weight of 1,000 seeds, dry matter and harvest index (HI-seedyield/dry matter). Transgenic plants performance was compared to controlplants grown in parallel under the same conditions. Mock-transgenicplants expressing the uidA reporter gene (GUS-Intron) or with no gene atall, under the same promoter were used as control.

The experiment was planned in nested randomized plot distribution. Foreach gene of the invention three to five independent transformationevents were analyzed from each construct.

Digital imaging—A laboratory image acquisition system, which consists ofa digital reflex camera (Canon EOS 300D) attached with a 55 mm focallength lens (Canon EF-S series), mounted on a reproduction device(Kaiser RS), which included 4 light units (4×150 Watts light bulb) isused for capturing images of plant samples.

The image capturing process was repeated every 2 days starting from day1 after transplanting till day 16. Same camera, placed in a custom madeiron mount, was used for capturing images of larger plants sawn in whitetubs in an environmental controlled greenhouse. The tubs were squareshape include 1.7 liter trays. During the capture process, the tubs wereplaced beneath the iron mount, while avoiding direct sun light andcasting of shadows.

An image analysis system was used, which consists of a personal desktopcomputer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ1.39 (Java based image processing program which was developed at the U.SNational Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet atHypertext Transfer Protocol://rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/). Images werecaptured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and storedin a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard)format. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed usingthe JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Leaf growth analysis—Using the digital analysis leaves data wascalculated, including leaf number, rosette area, rosette diameter, leafblade area, plot coverage, leaf petiole length.

The vegetative growth rate of the plant was defined by formulas IX, X,XI and XII.

Relative growth rate of leaf blade area=Regression coefficient of leafarea along time course.  Formula IX:

Relative growth rate of rosette area=Regression coefficient of rosettearea along time course.  Formula X:

Relative growth rate of rosette diameter=Regression coefficient ofrosette diameter along time course.  Formula XI

Relative growth rate of plot coverage=Regression coefficient of plotcoverage along time course.  Formula XII

Seeds average weight (Seed weight or 1000 seed weight)—At the end of theexperiment all seeds were collected. The seeds were scattered on a glasstray and a picture was taken. Using the digital analysis, the number ofseeds in each sample was calculated.

Plant dry weight and seed yield—On about day 80 from sowing, the plantswere harvested and left to dry at 30° C. in a drying chamber. Thebiomass and seed weight of each plot were measured and divided by thenumber of plants in each plot. Dry weight=total weight of the vegetativeportion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 30° C. in adrying chamber;

Seed yield per plant=total seed weight per plant (gr.).

1000 seed weight (the weight of 1000 seeds) (gr.).

The harvest index was calculated using Formula IV (Harvest Index=Averageseed yield per plant/Average dry weight) as described above.

Oil percentage in seeds—At the end of the experiment all seeds fromplots A-C were collected. Columbia seeds from 3 plots were mixedgrounded and then mounted onto the extraction chamber. 210 ml ofn-Hexane (Cat No. 080951 Biolab Ltd.) were used as the solvent. Theextraction was performed for 30 hours at medium heat 50° C. Once theextraction has ended the n-Hexane was evaporated using the evaporator at35° C. and vacuum conditions. The process was repeated twice. Theinformation gained from the Soxhlet extractor (Soxhlet, F. Diegewichtsanalytische Bestimmung des Milchfettes, Polytechnisches J.(Dingler's) 1879, 232, 461) was used to create a calibration curve forthe Low Resonance NMR. The content of oil of all seed samples wasdetermined using the Low Resonance NMR (MARAN Ultra-Oxford Instrument)and its MultiQuant sowftware package.

Oil yield—The oil yield was calculated using Formula VII (describedabove).

Silique length analysis—On day 50 from sowing, 30 siliques fromdifferent plants in each plot were sampled in block A. The chosensiliques were green-yellow in color and were collected from the bottomparts of a grown plant's stem. A digital photograph was taken todetermine silique's length.

Statistical analyses—To identify genes conferring significantly improvedtolerance to abiotic stresses, the results obtained from the transgenicplants were compared to those obtained from control plants. To identifyoutperforming genes and constructs, results from the independenttransformation events tested were analyzed separately. Data was analyzedusing Student's t-test and results were considered significant if the pvalue was less than 0.1. The JMP statistics software package was used(Version 5.2.1, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, N.C., USA).

TABLE 23 Parameters measured in greenhouse assays Parameter NumberRosette Diameter TP2 1 Rosette Diameter TP3 2 Rosette Diameter TP4 3Rosette Area TP2 4 Rosette Area TP3 5 Rosette Area TP4 6 Plot CoverageTP2 7 Plot Coverage TP3 8 Plot Coverage TP4 9 Leaf Number TP2 10 LeafNumber TP3 11 Leaf Number TP4 12 Leaf Blade Area TP2 13 Leaf Blade AreaTP3 14 Leaf Blade Area TP4 15 Leaf Petiole Length TP2 16 Leaf PetioleLength TP3 17 Leaf Petiole Length TP4 18 Blade Relative Area TP2 19Blade Relative Area TP3 20 Blade Relative Area TP4 21 Petiole RelativeArea TP2 22 Petiole Relative Area TP3 23 Petiole Relative Area TP4 24RGR Of Leaf Blade Area 25 RGR Of Leaf Number 26 RGR Of Rosette Area 27RGR Of Rosette Diameter 28 RGR Of Plot Coverage 29 Dry Weight 30 FreshWeight 31 Inflorescence Emergence 32 Flowering 33 Seed Yield 34 HarvestIndex 35 Seeds Weight 36 Oil Content 37 Table 23. Provided are theparameters measured in greenhouse experiments which are presented inTables 24-27 hereinbelow. TP1 = Time point 1; TP2 = Time point 2; TP3 =Time point 3; RGR = relative growth rate.

TABLE 24 Results from greenhouse experiments Gene Ev. Par: 1 2 3 4 5 6 78 9 10 BDL102 10471.1 P <0.01 <0.01 0.13 0.34 0.03 0.13 0.34 0.03 BDL10210471.1 Av 1.24 1.14 1.31 1.21 1.15 1.31 1.21 1.15 BDL102 10472.1 P 0.130.11 0.33 0.25 0.02 0.32 0.25 0.02 0.32 BDL102 10472.1 Av 1.26 1.19 1.141.37 1.26 1.26 1.37 1.26 1.26 BDL102 10474.1 P 0.22 0.23 0.26 0.19 0.20.23 0.19 0.2 0.23 0.19 BDL102 10474.1 Av 1.35 1.33 1.2 1.65 1.87 1.491.65 1.87 1.49 1.1 BDL102 10474.2 P 0.17 0.02 0.01 0.1 0.05 <0.01 0.10.05 <0.01 <0.01 BDL102 10474.2 Av 1.3 1.23 1.11 1.59 1.53 1.27 1.591.53 1.27 1.11 BDL102 10474.6 P 0.02 0.23 0.23 BDL102 10474.6 Av 1.111.15 1.15 BDL117 10071.2 P 0.62 0.59 BDL117 10071.2 Av 1.14 1.16 BDL11710074.1 P 0.28 0.22 0.16 0.29 0.3 0.3 0.28 0.29 0.29 0.34 BDL117 10074.1Av 1.26 1.23 1.24 1.58 1.47 1.44 1.6 1.49 1.46 1.15 BDL117 10074.4 P0.35 0.34 0.41 0.38 0.39 0.41 0.38 0.37 0.39 0.28 BDL117 10074.4 Av 1.211.14 1.15 1.41 1.29 1.26 1.43 1.3 1.28 1.13 BDL117 10073.1 P 0.57 0.580.64 BDL117 10073.1 Av 1.13 1.17 1.14 BDL117 10073.2 P 0.45 0.7 0.550.48 0.7 0.55 0.48 BDL117 10073.2 Av 1.14 1.1 1.21 1.22 1.1 1.21 1.22BDL117 10074.1 P 0.41 0.4 0.39 0.44 0.37 0.38 0.44 0.37 0.38 0.13 BDL11710074.1 Av 1.1 1.15 1.15 1.17 1.32 1.29 1.17 1.32 1.29 1.15 BDL11710074.4 P 0.1 0.4 0.34 0.4 0.34 BDL117 10074.4 Av 1.09 1.1 1.13 1.1 1.13BDL138 9812.1 P 0.04 BDL138 9812.1 Av 1.06 BDL138 9812.3 P 0.06 0.04BDL138 9812.3 Av 1.18 1.19 BDL140 10423.1 P 0.02 0.01 0.22 0.01 0.22BDL140 10423.1 Av 1.16 1.39 1.22 1.39 1.22 BDL140 10424.4 P 0.62 0.620.1 BDL140 10424.4 Av 1.18 1.18 1.08 BDL147 10301.5 P 0.1 BDL147 10301.5Av 1.08 BDL147 10303.1 P <0.01 0.01 0.06 0.04 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.08 0.05BDL147 10303.1 Av 1.23 1.21 1.65 1.36 1.24 1.65 1.36 1.24 1.11 BDL14710303.6 P 0.63 0.4 0.63 0.4 BDL147 10303.6 Av 1.14 1.11 1.14 1.11 BDL14710304.2 P 0.33 0.33 BDL147 10304.2 Av 1.19 1.19 BDL147 10304.2 P 0.440.36 0.44 0.36 BDL147 10304.2 Av 1.17 1.11 1.17 1.11 BDL149 9823.3 P0.22 0.08 0.33 0.13 0.29 0.03 BDL149 9823.3 Av 1.14 1.1 1.14 1.18 1.141.11 BDL149 9824.4 P 0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.08 <0.01 0.04 0.09 <0.01 0.040.03 BDL149 9824.4 Av 1.16 1.13 1.13 1.35 1.26 1.29 1.37 1.28 1.31 1.05BDL149 9823.3 P 0.65 0.67 0.63 0.65 0.67 0.63 BDL149 9823.3 Av 1.17 1.11.13 1.17 1.1 1.13 BDL152 10431.1 P 0.28 0.28 BDL152 10431.1 Av 1.131.13 BDL152 10431.4 P 0.2 0.45 0.2 0.45 BDL152 10431.4 Av 1.12 1.11 1.121.11 BDL152 10434.4 P 0.22 0.72 0.41 0.72 0.41 0.09 BDL152 10434.4 Av1.12 1.12 1.2 1.12 1.2 1.07 BDL153 10141.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.04<0.01 <0.01 0.05 <0.01 <0.01 BDL153 10141.3 Av 1.21 1.17 1.17 1.41 1.331.34 1.43 1.34 1.36 BDL153 10142.2 P 0.21 0.41 0.38 0.33 0.38 0.38 0.320.37 0.38 0.49 BDL153 10142.2 Av 1.33 1.2 1.25 1.64 1.55 1.57 1.66 1.581.6 1.15 BDL153 10143.1 P 0.03 0.14 0.07 0.37 0.14 0.04 0.34 BDL15310143.1 Av 1.07 1.22 1.12 1.14 1.23 1.13 1.16 BDL153 10144.1 P 0.08 0.080.1 0.03 0.03 0.04 BDL153 10144.1 Av 1.11 1.1 1.11 1.13 1.11 1.13 BDL15310141.3 P 0.1 <0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 BDL153 10141.3 Av 1.14 1.15 1.06 1.141.14 BDL153 10142.2 P 0.01 0.01 0.14 0.15 0.44 0.14 0.15 0.44 0.14BDL153 10142.2 Av 1.17 1.16 1.16 1.18 1.19 1.31 1.18 1.19 1.31 BDL15310142.3 P 0.4 0.4 BDL153 10142.3 Av 1.15 1.15 BDL153 10143.1 P 0.38BDL153 10143.1 Av 1.12 BDL153 10143.2 P 0.25 0.11 0.25 0.11 BDL15310143.2 Av 1.11 1.12 1.11 1.12 BDL153 10144.1 P 0.3 0.17 0.39 0.34 0.390.34 BDL153 10144.1 Av 1.23 1.1 1.44 1.13 1.44 1.13 BDL154 10703.8 P<0.01 0.03 0.12 0.07 0.43 0.12 0.07 0.43 BDL154 10703.8 Av 1.29 1.2 1.531.37 1.13 1.53 1.37 1.13 BDL155 9991.5 P 0.22 0.07 0.1 0.31 0.31 0.310.31 0.03 BDL155 9991.5 Av 1.13 1.12 1.12 1.14 1.12 1.14 1.12 1.09BDL155 9994.3 P 0.17 0.02 0.08 0.16 0.06 0.17 0.16 0.06 0.17 0.09 BDL1559994.3 Av 1.15 1.17 1.12 1.17 1.27 1.21 1.17 1.27 1.21 1.07 BDL16210492.2 P 0.32 0.16 0.25 0.11 0.16 0.25 0.11 0.59 BDL162 10492.2 Av 1.131.22 1.15 1.34 1.22 1.15 1.34 1.11 BDL167 10044.2 P 0.17 0.6 BDL16710044.2 Av 1.17 1.1 BDL167 10043.3 P 0.39 0.39 BDL167 10043.3 Av 1.1 1.1BDL167 10044.2 P 0.21 0.17 0.31 0.21 0.17 0.31 0.03 BDL167 10044.2 Av1.14 1.15 1.2 1.14 1.15 1.2 1.09 BDL168 9881.3 P 0.1 0.11 0.09 0.18 0.140.09 0.18 0.14 0.1 0.22 BDL168 9881.3 Av 1.22 1.19 1.24 1.48 1.44 1.491.5 1.46 1.52 1.14 BDL168 9881.4 P 0.14 0.24 0.18 0.05 0.11 0.27 0.050.11 0.26 0.4 BDL168 9881.4 Av 1.23 1.17 1.19 1.43 1.38 1.34 1.45 1.41.35 1.1 BDL168 9882.1 P 0.04 0.05 0.12 0.01 0.02 0.05 BDL168 9882.1 Av1.14 1.12 1.1 1.15 1.13 1.11 BDL168 9882.3 P 0.58 0.64 0.49 0.51 0.550.51 0.49 0.53 0.5 0.54 BDL168 9882.3 Av 1.1 1.11 1.17 1.3 1.24 1.331.32 1.26 1.35 1.1 BDL168 9884.4 P 0.72 0.76 0.74 BDL168 9884.4 Av 1.111.13 1.15 BDL168 9881.4 P 0.02 0.51 0.51 BDL168 9881.4 Av 1.09 1.15 1.15BDL168 9882.1 P 0.04 0.15 0.22 BDL168 9882.1 Av 1.07 1.12 1.13 BDL1689884.1 P 0.01 BDL168 9884.1 Av 1.1 BDL169 10743.4 P 0.43 0.55 0.56 0.540.7 0.72 BDL169 10743.4 Av 1.27 1.2 1.19 1.17 1.11 1.1 BDL169 10744.1 P0.41 0.37 0.55 0.3 0.45 0.69 0.43 BDL169 10744.1 Av 1.1 1.27 1.18 1.351.25 1.1 1.13 BDL169 10747.1 P 0.29 0.47 0.64 0.42 0.54 <0.01 BDL16910747.1 Av 1.15 1.34 1.15 1.42 1.22 1.17 BDL169 10747.5 P 0.08 0.01 0.020.24 0.01 0.01 0.13 <0.01 BDL169 10747.5 Av 1.09 1.4 1.28 1.11 1.49 1.361.18 1.16 BDL169 10741.3 P 0.58 0.43 0.43 BDL169 10741.3 Av 1.13 1.2 1.2BDL169 10744.2 P 0.43 0.25 0.18 0.34 0.31 0.33 0.34 0.31 0.33 0.44BDL169 10744.2 Av 1.24 1.26 1.21 1.6 1.61 1.42 1.6 1.61 1.42 1.12 BDL16910747.1 P 0.01 0.14 0.33 0.09 0.53 0.33 0.09 0.53 BDL169 10747.1 Av 1.161.15 1.44 1.3 1.17 1.44 1.3 1.17 BDL169 10747.5 P 0.05 0.1 0.01 0.160.19 0.05 0.16 0.19 0.05 BDL169 10747.5 Av 1.13 1.08 1.09 1.28 1.24 1.121.28 1.24 1.12 BDL171 10661.2 P 0.7 0.44 0.59 0.7 0.56 0.59 0.7 0.56BDL171 10661.2 Av 1.1 1.1 1.23 1.17 1.22 1.23 1.17 1.22 BDL171 10662.3 P0.48 0.44 0.35 0.53 0.35 0.53 BDL171 10662.3 Av 1.12 1.13 1.26 1.19 1.261.19 BDL171 10664.1 P 0.01 <0.01 0.24 <0.01 0.01 0.42 <0.01 0.01 0.42<0.01 BDL171 10664.1 Av 1.36 1.31 1.23 1.72 1.56 1.49 1.72 1.56 1.491.21 BDL171 10664.3 P 0.16 0.16 0.38 0.24 0.15 0.42 0.24 0.15 0.42 0.03BDL171 10664.3 Av 1.26 1.22 1.14 1.49 1.44 1.36 1.49 1.44 1.36 1.19BDL171 10661.5 P 0.29 0.38 0.42 BDL171 10661.5 Av 1.15 1.1 1.12 BDL17110662.2 P 0.01 0.07 0.18 0.11 0.15 BDL171 10662.2 Av 1.16 1.1 1.2 1.281.18 BDL171 10662.3 P 0.02 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.01 <0.01 <0.01<0.01 <0.01 BDL171 10662.3 Av 1.28 1.29 1.2 1.57 1.52 1.33 1.67 1.611.41 1.25 BDL171 10663.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.04 <0.01 0.02 0.03 BDL17110663.3 Av 1.26 1.18 1.32 1.21 1.4 1.28 1.18 BDL171 10664.1 P 0.76 0.810.69 0.75 0.85 BDL171 10664.1 Av 1.19 1.14 1.26 1.21 1.11 BDL171 10664.3P 0.01 0.12 0.14 0.17 0.58 0.11 0.12 0.47 0.07 BDL171 10664.3 Av 1.231.15 1.44 1.3 1.16 1.52 1.37 1.23 1.25 BDL173 9952.1 P 0.67 0.64 BDL1739952.1 Av 1.11 1.13 BDL177 10521.3 P 0.56 0.56 BDL177 10521.3 Av 1.151.15 BDL177 10524.2 P 0.09 0.44 0.09 0.44 BDL177 10524.2 Av 1.2 1.1 1.21.1 BDL182 10691.2 P 0.27 0.27 0.46 BDL182 10691.2 Av 1.12 1.12 1.11BDL182 10692.3 P 0.44 0.43 0.37 0.43 0.37 0.05 BDL182 10692.3 Av 1.111.25 1.12 1.25 1.12 1.08 BDL182 10693.2 P 0.65 0.65 BDL182 10693.2 Av1.1 1.1 BDL182 10693.3 P 0.03 0.08 0.16 0.06 0.38 0.16 0.06 0.38 BDL18210693.3 Av 1.19 1.15 1.22 1.18 1.12 1.22 1.18 1.12 BDL182 10693.5 P 0.480.48 BDL182 10693.5 Av 1.1 1.1 BDL182 10691.4 P 0.51 0.43 0.39 0.44 0.470.6 0.32 BDL182 10691.4 Av 1.11 1.11 1.36 1.21 1.26 1.13 1.19 BDL18210691.8 P 0.87 BDL182 10691.8 Av 1.1 BDL183 9941.1 P 0.21 0.16 0.16BDL183 9941.1 Av 1.11 1.11 1.13 BDL183 9943.4 P 0.3 BDL183 9943.4 Av 1.1BDL183 9944.1 P 0.09 0.03 0.1 0.15 0.22 0.1 0.15 0.21 BDL183 9944.1 Av1.16 1.12 1.27 1.23 1.22 1.29 1.25 1.24 BDL183 9941.1 P 0.65 0.65 BDL1839941.1 Av 1.11 1.11 BDL183 9942.1 P 0.02 0.02 0.16 0.33 0.38 0.16 0.330.38 BDL183 9942.1 Av 1.16 1.1 1.12 1.17 1.13 1.12 1.17 1.13 BDL18610002.2 P 0.1 0.05 <0.01 0.02 <0.01 BDL186 10002.2 Av 1.07 1.13 1.251.14 1.27 BDL186 10004.3 P 0.6 0.69 0.66 BDL186 10004.3 Av 1.11 1.151.17 BDL186 10001.3 P 0.53 BDL186 10001.3 Av 1.11 BDL186 10004.6 P 0.430.43 0.1 BDL186 10004.6 Av 1.2 1.2 1.08 BDL187 10502.2 P 0.29 0.6 BDL18710502.2 Av 1.2 1.13 BDL187 10503.1 P 0.09 0.27 0.09 0.27 BDL187 10503.1Av 1.26 1.1 1.26 1.1 BDL187 10503.3 P 0.66 0.66 BDL187 10503.3 Av 1.161.16 BDL187 10503.5 P 0.26 BDL187 10503.5 Av 1.1 BDL188 10462.4 P 0.140.07 0.14 0.07 0.32 BDL188 10462.4 Av 1.13 1.09 1.13 1.09 1.13 BDL18810462.1 P 0.02 0.11 0.04 0.11 0.4 0.04 0.11 0.4 BDL188 10462.1 Av 1.21.14 1.3 1.27 1.21 1.3 1.27 1.21 BDL188 10462.4 P 0.03 0.03 0.14 0.090.1 0.09 0.1 BDL188 10462.4 Av 1.16 1.16 1.1 1.24 1.23 1.24 1.23 BDL19010232.2 P 0.01 0.01 <0.01 0.43 0.09 0.14 0.43 0.09 0.14 BDL190 10232.2Av 1.18 1.15 1.13 1.17 1.25 1.24 1.17 1.25 1.24 BDL190 10233.2 P 0.03<0.01 0.09 0.03 0.01 <0.01 0.03 0.01 <0.01 BDL190 10233.2 Av 1.14 1.161.18 1.19 1.35 1.29 1.19 1.35 1.29 BDL190 10233.4 P 0.11 0.18 <0.01 0.18<0.01 BDL190 10233.4 Av 1.11 1.11 1.17 1.11 1.17 BDL190 10234.2 P 0.090.05 0.05 BDL190 10234.2 Av 1.06 1.18 1.18 BDL192 9921.6 P 0.26 0.4 0.480.23 0.37 0.44 BDL192 9921.6 Av 1.14 1.14 1.13 1.16 1.15 1.14 BDL1929922.1 P 0.11 0.35 0.33 0.28 0.33 0.3 0.22 BDL192 9922.1 Av 1.1 1.211.14 1.1 1.23 1.15 1.12 BDL192 9921.6 P 0.21 0.14 0.41 0.21 0.14 0.41BDL192 9921.6 Av 1.12 1.14 1.14 1.12 1.14 1.14 BDL192 9922.5 P 0.35 0.330.3 0.65 0.62 BDL192 9922.5 Av 1.18 1.2 1.13 1.11 1.13 BDL193 10152.2 P0.08 0.06 0.17 0.01 BDL193 10152.2 Av 1.15 1.16 1.1 1.06 BDL193 10153.2P 0.6 BDL193 10153.2 Av 1.11 BDL193 10153.4 P 0.04 0.4 0.37 0.21 0.380.34 0.18 BDL193 10153.4 Av 1.08 1.23 1.16 1.16 1.25 1.18 1.17 BDL19310153.3 P 0.41 0.14 0.4 0.01 0.4 0.4 0.01 0.4 0.33 BDL193 10153.3 Av1.12 1.15 1.21 1.31 1.14 1.21 1.31 1.14 1.13 BDL193 10153.4 P 0.33 0.250.51 0.27 0.17 0.51 0.27 0.17 BDL193 10153.4 Av 1.1 1.11 1.14 1.23 1.141.14 1.23 1.14 BDL196 10243.1 P 0.61 0.66 0.6 0.66 0.66 0.6 0.66 0.66BDL196 10243.1 Av 1.14 1.1 1.2 1.16 1.15 1.2 1.16 1.15 BDL196 10243.1 P0.02 BDL196 10243.1 Av 1.05 BDL201 9961.3 P 0.26 0.22 0.38 0.11 0.230.44 0.11 0.23 0.44 0.09 BDL201 9961.3 Av 1.13 1.11 1.16 1.33 1.23 1.351.33 1.23 1.35 1.07 BDL220 10333.5 P 0.48 BDL220 10333.5 Av 1.1 BDL22310793.5 P 0.09 0.01 0.01 0.39 0.12 0.26 0.39 0.12 0.26 0.02 BDL22310793.5 Av 1.15 1.12 1.1 1.12 1.25 1.13 1.12 1.25 1.13 1.06 BDL22310793.8 P <0.01 0.01 0.2 0.19 0.2 0.19 BDL223 10793.8 Av 1.17 1.1 1.311.18 1.31 1.18 BDL224 10451.7 P 0.59 0.59 0.05 BDL224 10451.7 Av 1.121.12 1.08 BDL226 10861.2 P 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.07 0.01 0.04 0.03 BDL22610861.2 Av 1.12 1.12 1.26 1.17 1.34 1.24 1.21 BDL226 10861.4 P 0.65 0.31BDL226 10861.4 Av 1.13 1.12 BDL226 10864.2 P 0.01 0.01 0.09 <0.01 <0.010.07 <0.01 <0.01 0.04 0.22 BDL226 10864.2 Av 1.2 1.15 1.09 1.49 1.341.21 1.59 1.42 1.29 1.13 BDL227 11491.3 P 0.21 0.01 0.08 0.27 0.07 0.270.07 BDL227 11491.3 Av 1.11 1.09 1.09 1.12 1.21 1.12 1.21 BDL227 11492.3P <0.01 <0.01 0.01 0.05 0.01 0.05 BDL227 11492.3 Av 1.17 1.12 1.23 1.121.23 1.12 BDL233 10822.1 P 0.63 0.63 BDL233 10822.1 Av 1.12 1.12 BDL23310825.4 P 0.4 0.4 0.37 0.63 0.35 0.48 0.63 0.35 0.48 BDL233 10825.4 Av1.16 1.16 1.16 1.14 1.39 1.25 1.14 1.39 1.25 BDL237 10893.1 P 0.09 0.09BDL237 10893.1 Av 1.12 1.12 BDL237 10895.1 P 0.37 0.29 0.05 0.56 0.550.05 0.56 0.55 BDL237 10895.1 Av 1.13 1.1 1.13 1.15 1.11 1.13 1.15 1.11BDL237 10895.2 P 0.29 0.29 BDL237 10895.2 Av 1.12 1.12 BDL237 10895.3 P0.55 0.56 0.56 BDL237 10895.3 Av 1.13 1.12 1.12 BDL238 10951.4 P 0.350.1 0.1 BDL238 10951.4 Av 1.11 1.14 1.14 BDL238 10952.3 P 0.68 0.68BDL238 10952.3 Av 1.1 1.1 BDL238 10954.2 P 0.04 <0.01 <0.01 0.08 <0.01<0.01 0.08 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL238 10954.2 Av 1.33 1.28 1.23 1.73 1.761.52 1.73 1.76 1.52 1.13 BDL238 10954.3 P 0.74 0.74 BDL238 10954.3 Av1.13 1.13 BDL240 10802.2 P 0.02 0.03 0.12 0.1 0.02 0.04 0.1 0.02 0.04BDL240 10802.2 Av 1.22 1.26 1.18 1.34 1.54 1.35 1.34 1.54 1.35 BDL24110873.1 P 0.02 0.13 0.11 <0.01 0.38 0.02 <0.01 0.38 0.02 BDL241 10873.1Av 1.19 1.18 1.15 1.41 1.3 1.34 1.41 1.3 1.34 BDL242 10731.2 P 0.4 0.520.14 0.46 0.58 0.14 0.46 0.58 BDL242 10731.2 Av 1.13 1.12 1.22 1.28 1.141.22 1.28 1.14 BDL242 10731.5 P 0.1 0.1 BDL242 10731.5 Av 1.11 1.11BDL242 10731.6 P <0.01 <0.01 0.18 0.03 0.25 0.08 0.03 0.25 0.08 BDL24210731.6 Av 1.21 1.22 1.19 1.48 1.45 1.36 1.48 1.45 1.36 BDL242 10731.7 P0.06 0.06 BDL242 10731.7 Av 1.12 1.12 BDL245 10813.3 P 0.03 BDL24510813.3 Av 1.08 BDL250 10841.3 P 0.02 0.18 0.26 0.06 0.22 0.32 0.06 0.220.32 0.05 BDL250 10841.3 Av 1.24 1.18 1.11 1.36 1.41 1.17 1.36 1.41 1.171.08 BDL250 10846.2 P 0.48 0.64 0.41 0.64 0.41 BDL250 10846.2 Av 1.11.12 1.16 1.12 1.16 BDL250 10846.3 P 0.38 0.36 0.48 0.58 0.46 0.62 0.580.46 0.62 BDL250 10846.3 Av 1.11 1.17 1.11 1.17 1.34 1.19 1.17 1.34 1.19BDL252 10882.1 P 0.3 0.41 0.44 0.32 0.26 0.34 0.32 0.26 0.34 <0.01BDL252 10882.1 Av 1.19 1.19 1.17 1.38 1.42 1.24 1.38 1.42 1.24 1.1 BDL4810274.4 P 0.23 0.02 0.02 0.81 0.09 0.08 0.81 0.09 0.08 BDL48 10274.4 Av1.14 1.15 1.2 1.1 1.23 1.36 1.1 1.23 1.36 BDL48 10271.1 P 0.06 <0.010.27 0.03 <0.01 0.27 0.03 <0.01 BDL48 10271.1 Av 1.08 1.16 1.11 1.221.27 1.11 1.22 1.27 BDL48 10274.3 P 0.07 0.01 <0.01 0.02 0.01 <0.01 0.020.01 <0.01 BDL48 10274.3 Av 1.21 1.19 1.09 1.25 1.35 1.22 1.25 1.35 1.22BDL48 10274.4 P 0.29 0.2 0.13 0.22 0.03 0.22 0.22 0.03 0.22 BDL4810274.4 Av 1.14 1.15 1.14 1.14 1.21 1.26 1.14 1.21 1.26 BDL48 10274.5 P0.04 0.28 0.45 0.26 0.49 0.44 0.26 0.49 0.44 BDL48 10274.5 Av 1.11 1.131.11 1.14 1.22 1.22 1.14 1.22 1.22 BDL63 10381.1 P 0.12 0.02 <0.01 0.110.21 <0.01 0.11 0.21 <0.01 BDL63 10381.1 Av 1.2 1.18 1.17 1.2 1.39 1.371.2 1.39 1.37 BDL63 10381.2 P 0.03 0.25 0.37 0.31 0.6 0.42 0.31 0.6 0.42BDL63 10381.2 Av 1.13 1.15 1.19 1.19 1.26 1.32 1.19 1.26 1.32 BDL6310384.8 P 0.02 <0.01 0.06 <0.01 0.06 <0.01 BDL63 10384.8 Av 1.09 1.141.2 1.24 1.2 1.24 BDL79 11042.1 P 0.08 0.04 0.52 0.04 0.52 BDL79 11042.1Av 1.06 1.16 1.1 1.16 1.1 BDL79 11044.3 P <0.01 0.03 0.14 0.14 BDL7911044.3 Av 1.17 1.11 1.14 1.14 BDL81 10371.8 P 0.34 0.34 BDL81 10371.8Av 1.12 1.12 BDL81 10374.1 P 0.22 0.22 BDL81 10374.1 Av 1.16 1.16 BDL8110371.5 P 0.02 0.17 0.21 0.21 BDL81 10371.5 Av 1.08 1.11 1.13 1.13 BDL8110371.8 P 0.6 0.8 0.57 0.8 0.57 BDL81 10371.8 Av 1.13 1.13 1.22 1.131.22 BDL81 10374.1 P 0.26 0.31 0.44 0.16 0.19 0.32 0.16 0.19 0.32 0.26BDL81 10374.1 Av 1.23 1.22 1.19 1.44 1.45 1.49 1.44 1.45 1.49 1.12 BDL8510411.1 P 0.25 0.34 0.15 0.13 0.39 0.33 0.13 0.39 0.33 0.12 BDL8510411.1 Av 1.2 1.16 1.14 1.39 1.29 1.28 1.39 1.29 1.28 1.16 Table 24.Results of the greenhouse experiments. Provided are the measured valuesof each parameter [parameters (Par.) 1-10 according to the parametersdescribed in Table 23 above] in plants expressing the indicatedpolynucleotides. “Ev” = event; “P” = P-value; “Av” = ratio between theaverages of event and control. Note that when the average ratio ishigher than “1” the effect of exogenous expression of the gene is anincrease of the desired trait;

TABLE 25 Results from greenhouse experiments Gene Ev. Par 11 12 13 14 1516 17 18 19 20 BDL102 10471.1 P 0.1 0.27 0.03 0.04 0.29 BDL102 10471.1Av 1.35 1.23 1.18 1.27 1.1 BDL102 10472.1 P 0.17 0.35 0.25 0.21 0.22BDL102 10472.1 Av 1.36 1.23 1.3 1.29 1.15 BDL102 10474.1 P 0.18 0.190.16 0.17 0.3 0.02 BDL102 10474.1 Av 1.56 1.82 1.54 1.4 1.3 1.03 BDL10210474.2 P 0.04 <0.01 0.01 0.15 <0.01 BDL102 10474.2 Av 1.51 1.48 1.341.42 1.22 BDL102 10474.6 P 0.23 0.11 BDL102 10474.6 Av 1.19 1.12 BDL11710071.2 P 0.1 BDL117 10071.2 Av 1.03 BDL117 10073.2 P 0.02 0.15 BDL11710073.2 Av 1.1 1.1 BDL117 10074.1 P 0.21 0.27 0.29 0.26 0.18 0.12 0.04BDL117 10074.1 Av 1.19 1.46 1.38 1.33 1.59 1.35 1.17 BDL117 10074.4 P0.05 0.37 0.38 0.49 0.3 0.25 0.31 0.03 BDL117 10074.4 Av 1.06 1.12 1.281.16 1.19 1.43 1.28 1.02 BDL117 10073.1 P 0.62 0.52 0.63 BDL117 10073.1Av 1.1 1.16 1.15 BDL117 10073.2 P 0.56 0.37 0.35 0.53 0.51 BDL11710073.2 Av 1.19 1.25 1.14 1.13 1.15 BDL117 10074.1 P 0.01 0.53 0.37 0.360.33 0.42 0.43 BDL117 10074.1 Av 1.09 1.11 1.29 1.24 1.21 1.17 1.2BDL117 10074.4 P 0.37 0.26 0.24 0.16 BDL117 10074.4 Av 1.1 1.12 1.131.11 BDL138 9811.4 P 0.06 BDL138 9811.4 Av 1.09 BDL138 9812.1 P <0.010.02 BDL138 9812.1 Av 1.16 1.11 BDL138 9812.3 P 0.05 0.11 0.37 0.52 0.01BDL138 9812.3 Av 1.04 1.13 1.14 1.1 1.03 BDL138 9811.1 P 0.02 <0.01BDL138 9811.1 Av 1.04 1.04 BDL138 9813.4 P <0.01 BDL138 9813.4 Av 1.04BDL140 10423.1 P 0.01 0.22 BDL140 10423.1 Av 1.29 1.19 BDL140 10424.3 P0.49 BDL140 10424.3 Av 1.27 BDL140 10424.4 P 0.64 0.68 BDL140 10424.4 Av1.14 1.17 BDL140 10423.1 P 0.03 BDL140 10423.1 Av 1.04 BDL147 10303.1 P0.11 0.07 0.11 0.12 0.01 BDL147 10303.1 Av 1.49 1.31 1.18 1.28 1.43BDL147 10303.6 P 0.38 0.37 BDL147 10303.6 Av 1.11 1.12 BDL147 10304.2 P0.33 0.05 BDL147 10304.2 Av 1.18 1.04 BDL147 10303.5 P 0.41 BDL14710303.5 Av 1.1 BDL147 10304.2 P 0.48 BDL147 10304.2 Av 1.17 BDL1499823.3 P 0.23 <0.01 0.01 BDL149 9823.3 Av 1.13 1.38 1.21 BDL149 9824.3 P0.09 BDL149 9824.3 Av 1.04 BDL149 9824.4 P 0.02 0.12 0.03 0.17 <0.01<0.01 0.02 BDL149 9824.4 Av 1.1 1.28 1.12 1.2 1.23 1.22 1.11 BDL1499823.3 P 0.62 0.47 0.56 BDL149 9823.3 Av 1.13 1.16 1.12 BDL152 10431.1 P0.31 BDL152 10431.1 Av 1.1 BDL152 10431.4 P 0.16 0.47 0.27 0.09 0.03BDL152 10431.4 Av 1.1 1.1 1.18 1.18 1.02 BDL152 10432.5 P 0.18 0.62BDL152 10432.5 Av 1.1 1.16 BDL152 10434.1 P 0.76 BDL152 10434.1 Av 1.11BDL152 10434.4 P 0.32 0.25 0.04 0.16 BDL152 10434.4 Av 1.2 1.13 1.371.12 BDL152 10434.1 P 0.03 BDL152 10434.1 Av 1.04 BDL152 10434.4 P 0.05BDL152 10434.4 Av 1.04 BDL153 10141.3 P <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.25 0.05<0.01 BDL153 10141.3 Av 1.32 1.24 1.27 1.33 1.26 1.15 BDL153 10142.2 P0.03 0.33 0.28 0.54 0.41 0.2 0.33 0.55 0.07 BDL153 10142.2 Av 1.15 1.161.44 1.28 1.41 1.54 1.34 1.12 1.02 BDL153 10143.1 P 0.01 0.21 0.32 0.050.01 <0.01 BDL153 10143.1 Av 1.12 1.2 1.14 1.11 1.02 1.02 BDL153 10144.1P <0.01 0.05 0.08 0.07 BDL153 10144.1 Av 1.09 1.13 1.1 1.1 BDL15310141.3 P 0.06 0.02 0.02 0.24 BDL153 10141.3 Av 1.14 1.1 1.26 1.19BDL153 10142.2 P 0.1 0.17 0.35 0.06 0.02 0.05 0.04 BDL153 10142.2 Av1.05 1.1 1.17 1.22 1.48 1.31 1.26 BDL153 10142.3 P 0.36 0.23 BDL15310142.3 Av 1.14 1.1 BDL153 10143.1 P 0.15 BDL153 10143.1 Av 1.14 BDL15310143.2 P 0.04 0.15 0.07 <0.01 BDL153 10143.2 Av 1.06 1.11 1.2 1.15BDL153 10144.1 P 0.4 0.48 0.24 0.08 BDL153 10144.1 Av 1.43 1.11 1.341.13 BDL153 10144.4 P 0.54 BDL153 10144.4 Av 1.1 BDL154 10703.6 P 0.66BDL154 10703.6 Av 1.1 BDL154 10703.8 P 0.08 0.09 0.54 <0.01 0.09 BDL15410703.8 Av 1.47 1.41 1.13 1.47 1.22 BDL155 9991.5 P 0.36 0.09 0.31 0.41BDL155 9991.5 Av 1.11 1.18 1.29 1.35 BDL155 9991.9 P 0.27 BDL155 9991.9Av 1.17 BDL155 9993.2 P 0.64 BDL155 9993.2 Av 1.12 BDL155 9994.3 P 0.160.31 0.08 0.12 0.12 0.09 0.41 BDL155 9994.3 Av 1.14 1.1 1.16 1.17 1.431.44 1.12 BDL155 9993.2 P 0.06 BDL155 9993.2 Av 1.03 BDL155 9994.3 P0.03 BDL155 9994.3 Av 1.04 BDL157 9911.4 P 0.09 BDL157 9911.4 Av 1.03BDL157 9914.2 P 0.12 0.09 BDL157 9914.2 Av 1.11 1.06 BDL162 10492.2 P0.12 0.44 BDL162 10492.2 Av 1.39 1.15 BDL162 10492.4 P 0.82 BDL16210492.4 Av 1.13 BDL162 10494.1 P 0.1 0.13 BDL162 10494.1 Av 1.21 1.21BDL167 10043.1 P 0.17 BDL167 10043.1 Av 1.21 BDL167 10043.2 P <0.01 0.01BDL167 10043.2 Av 1.04 1.03 BDL167 10044.2 P 0.05 0.07 0.03 BDL16710044.2 Av 1.15 1.16 1.02 BDL167 10042.3 P 0.1 0.2 BDL167 10042.3 Av1.05 1.12 BDL167 10043.3 P 0.35 0.19 0.38 0.41 BDL167 10043.3 Av 1.111.1 1.14 1.11 BDL167 10044.2 P 0.51 0.28 0.27 0.31 0.18 BDL167 10044.2Av 1.1 1.14 1.15 1.17 1.17 BDL168 9881.3 P 0.08 <0.01 0.24 0.17 0.1 0.110.21 0.3 <0.01 BDL168 9881.3 Av 1.09 1.1 1.32 1.36 1.44 1.17 1.21 1.151.02 BDL168 9881.4 P 0.01 0.1 0.32 0.05 0.16 0.36 0.44 BDL168 9881.4 Av1.15 1.3 1.23 1.32 1.45 1.25 1.14 BDL168 9882.3 P 0.61 0.54 0.49 0.660.71 0.66 BDL168 9882.3 Av 1.15 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.13 1.1 BDL168 9884.4 P 0.7BDL168 9884.4 Av 1.15 BDL168 9881.4 P 0.57 0.57 0.37 0.4 BDL168 9881.4Av 1.11 1.1 1.17 1.14 BDL168 9882.1 P 0.1 0.22 0.48 <0.01 BDL168 9882.1Av 1.12 1.11 1.14 1.16 BDL168 9882.3 P 0.39 0.22 BDL168 9882.3 Av 1.121.11 BDL168 9884.1 P 0.11 BDL168 9884.1 Av 1.12 BDL169 10743.4 P 0.550.5 0.69 0.44 BDL169 10743.4 Av 1.16 1.19 1.12 1.17 BDL169 10744.1 P0.41 0.38 0.29 0.31 BDL169 10744.1 Av 1.15 1.19 1.4 1.24 BDL169 10747.1P 0.09 0.58 0.01 BDL169 10747.1 Av 1.11 1.22 1.42 BDL169 10747.5 P <0.010.14 0.06 BDL169 10747.5 Av 1.11 1.29 1.15 BDL169 10741.3 P 0.42 0.680.53 BDL169 10741.3 Av 1.17 1.11 1.16 BDL169 10744.2 P 0.02 0.26 0.310.32 0.37 0.24 0.02 0.02 BDL169 10744.2 Av 1.04 1.48 1.56 1.44 1.37 1.261.23 1.03 BDL169 10747.1 P 0.34 <0.01 0.36 0.02 0.02 BDL169 10747.1 Av1.39 1.32 1.2 1.16 1.17 BDL169 10747.3 P 0.45 BDL169 10747.3 Av 1.1BDL169 10747.5 P 0.11 0.14 <0.01 <0.01 BDL169 10747.5 Av 1.2 1.26 1.271.22 BDL171 10661.2 P 0.6 0.63 0.74 0.35 0.84 0.55 BDL171 10661.2 Av1.11 1.17 1.1 1.19 1.1 1.33 BDL171 10662.3 P 0.4 0.67 0.5 0.15 BDL17110662.3 Av 1.21 1.11 1.18 1.46 BDL171 10664.1 P 0.09 <0.01 <0.01 0.480.03 <0.01 0.01 BDL171 10664.1 Av 1.15 1.56 1.44 1.42 1.57 1.6 1.29BDL171 10664.3 P 0.34 0.47 0.24 0.04 0.46 0.08 0.38 0.48 BDL171 10664.3Av 1.19 1.12 1.3 1.29 1.18 1.39 1.43 1.26 BDL171 10661.5 P 0.51 0.760.68 BDL171 10661.5 Av 1.1 1.11 1.12 BDL171 10662.2 P 0.39 0.06 0.42BDL171 10662.2 Av 1.11 1.47 1.14 BDL171 10662.3 P 0.09 <0.01 0.02 <0.010.24 0.17 <0.01 BDL171 10662.3 Av 1.3 1.39 1.5 1.33 1.46 1.37 1.23BDL171 10663.3 P <0.01 0.04 0.07 <0.01 0.08 BDL171 10663.3 Av 1.2 1.21.17 1.54 1.24 BDL171 10664.1 P 0.71 0.79 0.01 BDL171 10664.1 Av 1.181.13 1.03 BDL171 10664.3 P 0.08 0.18 0.22 0.01 0.33 0.09 BDL171 10664.3Av 1.18 1.29 1.22 1.54 1.23 1.03 BDL173 9951.2 P <0.01 BDL173 9951.2 Av1.03 BDL173 9952.1 P 0.61 BDL173 9952.1 Av 1.13 BDL173 9954.3 P <0.010.02 BDL173 9954.3 Av 1.05 1.04 BDL173 9953.4 P <0.01 BDL173 9953.4 Av1.03 BDL177 10521.3 P 0.37 0.2 BDL177 10521.3 Av 1.22 1.16 BDL17710522.2 P <0.01 BDL177 10522.2 Av 1.05 BDL177 10524.2 P 0.16 0.21 0.28BDL177 10524.2 Av 1.14 1.14 1.17 BDL182 10691.2 P 0.14 0.59 0.08 BDL18210691.2 Av 1.11 1.12 1.2 BDL182 10692.3 P 0.53 0.2 0.73 BDL182 10692.3Av 1.16 1.15 1.13 BDL182 10693.2 P 0.34 0.18 0.67 BDL182 10693.2 Av 1.131.24 1.11 BDL182 10693.3 P 0.25 0.07 0.05 0.25 BDL182 10693.3 Av 1.181.14 1.42 1.35 BDL182 10693.5 P 0.15 0.05 BDL182 10693.5 Av 1.18 1.29BDL182 10691.2 P 0.02 0.01 BDL182 10691.2 Av 1.06 1.04 BDL182 10691.4 P<0.01 0.2 0.56 0.65 <0.01 0.13 BDL182 10691.4 Av 1.25 1.15 1.19 1.121.48 1.29 BDL182 10691.8 P 0.79 0.84 BDL182 10691.8 Av 1.14 1.14 BDL18210693.2 P 0.02 BDL182 10693.2 Av 1.05 BDL182 10693.3 P 0.85 BDL18210693.3 Av 1.13 BDL183 9941.1 P <0.01 0.26 BDL183 9941.1 Av 1.09 1.13BDL183 9942.4 P 0.02 <0.01 BDL183 9942.4 Av 1.17 1.16 BDL183 9943.4 P0.21 0.15 BDL183 9943.4 Av 1.11 1.14 BDL183 9944.1 P 0.05 <0.01 0.090.01 0.3 <0.01 0.02 BDL183 9944.1 Av 1.04 1.1 1.19 1.15 1.13 1.31 1.21BDL183 9941.1 P 0.64 0.56 BDL183 9941.1 Av 1.11 1.16 BDL183 9942.1 P0.12 0.31 0.46 0.02 BDL183 9942.1 Av 1.13 1.19 1.12 1.26 BDL186 10002.2P 0.01 <0.01 0.1 BDL186 10002.2 Av 1.14 1.21 1.12 BDL186 10004.3 P 0.710.59 0.09 <0.01 BDL186 10004.3 Av 1.13 1.15 1.02 1.02 BDL186 10001.3 P0.3 BDL186 10001.3 Av 1.25 BDL186 10004.6 P 0.54 BDL186 10004.6 Av 1.16BDL187 10502.2 P 0.38 BDL187 10502.2 Av 1.12 BDL187 10502.4 P 0.59BDL187 10502.4 Av 1.1 BDL187 10503.1 P 0.05 0.26 BDL187 10503.1 Av 1.261.15 BDL187 10503.3 P 0.29 0.3 BDL187 10503.3 Av 1.25 1.14 BDL18710503.5 P 0.2 0.08 BDL187 10503.5 Av 1.36 1.25 BDL188 10462.4 P 0.09BDL188 10462.4 Av 1.06 BDL188 10462.1 P 0.02 0.11 0.44 0.25 0.29 BDL18810462.1 Av 1.28 1.32 1.19 1.15 1.14 BDL188 10462.4 P 0.02 0.09 0.01 0.25BDL188 10462.4 Av 1.19 1.22 1.36 1.24 BDL188 10464.5 P 0.33 BDL18810464.5 Av 1.19 BDL190 10234.1 P 0.5 BDL190 10234.1 Av 1.11 BDL19010234.2 P 0.57 0.01 BDL190 10234.2 Av 1.1 1.03 BDL190 10231.1 P 0.21BDL190 10231.1 Av 1.13 BDL190 10231.2 P 0.02 BDL190 10231.2 Av 1.24BDL190 10232.2 P 0.44 0.08 0.16 0.1 0.39 0.25 BDL190 10232.2 Av 1.181.23 1.18 1.29 1.16 1.16 BDL190 10233.2 P 0.05 0.02 <0.01 0.02 0.05 0.050.04 BDL190 10233.2 Av 1.18 1.31 1.21 1.25 1.15 1.31 1.02 BDL190 10233.4P 0.02 0.45 0.5 <0.01 BDL190 10233.4 Av 1.2 1.16 1.12 1.16 BDL19010234.2 P 0.07 0.05 BDL190 10234.2 Av 1.17 1.19 BDL192 9921.3 P 0.38BDL192 9921.3 Av 1.13 BDL192 9921.6 P 0.12 0.36 0.55 BDL192 9921.6 Av1.15 1.13 1.11 BDL192 9922.1 P 0.11 0.12 0.57 0.56 BDL192 9922.1 Av 1.181.11 1.17 1.11 BDL192 9921.6 P 0.09 0.19 0.51 BDL192 9921.6 Av 1.07 1.11.13 BDL192 9922.5 P 0.01 0.35 0.29 0.5 BDL192 9922.5 Av 1.06 1.18 1.21.11 BDL193 10152.2 P 0.05 0.23 0.05 0.14 BDL193 10152.2 Av 1.04 1.11.17 1.11 BDL193 10152.3 P 0.02 BDL193 10152.3 Av 1.02 BDL193 10153.2 P0.32 BDL193 10153.2 Av 1.1 BDL193 10153.4 P 0.37 0.29 0.46 0.09 <0.01BDL193 10153.4 Av 1.14 1.15 1.1 1.09 1.02 BDL193 10153.2 P 0.42 0.07<0.01 BDL193 10153.2 Av 1.12 1.02 1.03 BDL193 10153.3 P 0.07 0.37 0.010.2 0.22 0.09 BDL193 10153.3 Av 1.1 1.15 1.27 1.2 1.18 1.16 BDL19310153.4 P 0.41 0.24 0.16 0.63 BDL193 10153.4 Av 1.13 1.16 1.1 1.11BDL196 10243.1 P 0.65 0.77 0.63 0.71 BDL196 10243.1 Av 1.2 1.11 1.221.11 BDL201 9961.3 P 0.22 0.04 0.18 0.29 0.43 0.46 0.07 0.09 BDL2019961.3 Av 1.1 1.06 1.28 1.16 1.33 1.12 1.25 1.02 BDL220 10331.5 P <0.01BDL220 10331.5 Av 1.05 BDL220 10331.7 P 0.39 BDL220 10331.7 Av 1.1BDL220 10333.5 P 0.49 BDL220 10333.5 Av 1.18 BDL223 10793.3 P 0.1 BDL22310793.3 Av 1.1 BDL223 10793.5 P <0.01 0.47 0.01 0.02 0.1 0.21 0.12 0.08BDL223 10793.5 Av 1.08 1.1 1.23 1.15 1.22 1.16 1.12 1.02 BDL223 10793.8P 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.06 0.1 0.23 BDL223 10793.8 Av 1.03 1.28 1.2 1.11 1.211.1 BDL224 10451.7 P 0.57 BDL224 10451.7 Av 1.11 BDL224 10453.3 P 0.5BDL224 10453.3 Av 1.12 BDL225 10401.4 P 0.07 BDL225 10401.4 Av 1.04BDL226 10861.2 P 0.03 0.04 0.08 0.25 0.08 0.29 0.01 BDL226 10861.2 Av1.19 1.17 1.14 1.37 1.31 1.12 1.06 BDL226 10864.2 P <0.01 0.07 <0.010.01 0.11 0.06 <0.01 BDL226 10864.2 Av 1.17 1.08 1.38 1.24 1.13 1.431.36 BDL227 11491.3 P <0.01 0.5 0.37 BDL227 11491.3 Av 1.23 1.12 1.12BDL227 11492.3 P 0.04 <0.01 0.06 0.03 0.04 0.35 BDL227 11492.3 Av 1.161.25 1.14 1.21 1.19 1.14 BDL233 10822.1 P <0.01 BDL233 10822.1 Av 1.21BDL233 10825.4 P 0.39 0.47 0.32 0.5 0.02 BDL233 10825.4 Av 1.32 1.291.27 1.18 1.12 BDL237 10893.1 P 0.07 BDL237 10893.1 Av 1.17 BDL23710895.1 P 0.09 0.44 0.16 0.26 BDL237 10895.1 Av 1.11 1.18 1.22 1.1BDL237 10895.2 P 0.2 0.66 BDL237 10895.2 Av 1.13 1.12 BDL237 10895.3 P0.51 0.36 0.64 BDL237 10895.3 Av 1.12 1.26 1.11 BDL237 10896.1 P 0.110.52 BDL237 10896.1 Av 1.13 1.1 BDL238 10951.4 P 0.09 0.22 0.18 BDL23810951.4 Av 1.11 1.13 1.12 BDL238 10952.3 P 0.69 0.7 BDL238 10952.3 Av1.1 1.1 BDL238 10954.2 P 0.08 <0.01 <0.01 0.11 <0.01 BDL238 10954.2 Av1.59 1.7 1.46 1.34 1.29 BDL238 10954.3 P 0.67 0.58 BDL238 10954.3 Av1.15 1.1 BDL240 10802.2 P 0.05 0.04 <0.01 <0.01 0.08 0.05 BDL240 10802.2Av 1.34 1.61 1.3 1.22 1.27 1.17 BDL240 10806.2 P 0.3 BDL240 10806.2 Av1.1 BDL240 10806.6 P 0.01 0.09 BDL240 10806.6 Av 1.06 1.04 BDL24110873.1 P <0.01 0.52 0.1 0.09 0.06 BDL241 10873.1 Av 1.41 1.24 1.33 1.231.23 BDL242 10731.2 P 0.05 0.45 0.62 0.49 0.45 BDL242 10731.2 Av 1.261.27 1.11 1.11 1.11 BDL242 10731.5 P 0.05 BDL242 10731.5 Av 1.13 BDL24210731.6 P 0.01 0.19 0.02 <0.01 0.09 0.03 BDL242 10731.6 Av 1.46 1.431.37 1.29 1.21 1.02 BDL242 10731.7 P 0.04 0.25 BDL242 10731.7 Av 1.141.15 BDL245 10813.3 P 0.04 0.02 0.27 0.08 0.2 BDL245 10813.3 Av 1.071.08 1.14 1.2 1.15 BDL245 10816.3 P 0.02 BDL245 10816.3 Av 1.03 BDL24510812.3 P 0.07 BDL245 10812.3 Av 1.09 BDL245 10813.3 P 0.12 0.03 0.01BDL245 10813.3 Av 1.14 1.11 1.16 BDL247 10911.4 P 0.01 BDL247 10911.4 Av1.03 BDL247 10912.6 P 0.02 BDL247 10912.6 Av 1.02 BDL248 11051.1 P 0.04BDL248 11051.1 Av 1.03 BDL248 11054.1 P 0.06 BDL248 11054.1 Av 1.04BDL250 10841.3 P 0.05 0.23 0.45 0.05 0.01 0.21 BDL250 10841.3 Av 1.311.31 1.12 1.38 1.32 1.1 BDL250 10842.3 P 0.17 BDL250 10842.3 Av 1.11BDL250 10846.2 P 0.47 0.32 0.41 BDL250 10846.2 Av 1.13 1.2 1.11 BDL25010846.3 P 0.54 0.46 0.51 0.14 0.26 BDL250 10846.3 Av 1.15 1.3 1.22 1.251.15 BDL252 10882.1 P 0.26 0.25 0.24 0.33 0.51 0.54 0.01 BDL252 10882.1Av 1.35 1.36 1.22 1.35 1.28 1.21 1.02 BDL252 10882.4 P 0.49 BDL25210882.4 Av 1.14 BDL48 10274.4 P 0.04 0.01 0.06 0.01 0.13 BDL48 10274.4Av 1.11 1.33 1.4 1.49 1.14 BDL48 10271.1 P 0.18 0.02 <0.01 0.29 0.180.02 0.06 BDL48 10271.1 Av 1.13 1.21 1.24 1.11 1.22 1.02 1.02 BDL4810271.5 P 0.51 BDL48 10271.5 Av 1.1 BDL48 10274.3 P 0.01 <0.01 <0.01<0.01 <0.01 <0.01 BDL48 10274.3 Av 1.24 1.33 1.16 1.44 1.32 1.17 BDL4810274.4 P 0.11 0.02 0.15 0.53 0.15 0.3 BDL48 10274.4 Av 1.21 1.23 1.21.18 1.25 1.21 BDL48 10274.5 P 0.41 0.48 0.59 0.27 0.02 0.21 BDL4810274.5 Av 1.12 1.23 1.12 1.24 1.2 1.23 BDL63 10381.2 P 0.48 BDL6310381.2 Av 1.29 BDL63 10381.1 P 0.04 0.1 0.21 0.23 0.04 0.19 0.01 <0.01BDL63 10381.1 Av 1.1 1.05 1.22 1.34 1.29 1.34 1.26 1.25 BDL63 10381.2 P0.21 0.5 0.48 0.17 0.01 0.23 BDL63 10381.2 Av 1.21 1.28 1.25 1.26 1.221.21 BDL63 10384.8 P 0.1 0.04 <0.01 0.33 0.14 <0.01 BDL63 10384.8 Av1.05 1.2 1.2 1.15 1.1 1.25 BDL79 11042.1 P <0.01 0.12 0.2 0.03 BDL7911042.1 Av 1.08 1.1 1.14 1.11 BDL79 11044.3 P 0.12 <0.01 0.01 0.41 BDL7911044.3 Av 1.12 1.24 1.15 1.18 BDL81 10371.8 P 0.18 BDL81 10371.8 Av1.15 BDL81 10374.1 P 0.24 BDL81 10374.1 Av 1.13 BDL81 10371.5 P 0.2 0.320.06 0.02 BDL81 10371.5 Av 1.15 1.15 1.18 1.1 BDL81 10371.8 P 0.72 0.620.68 0.57 0.49 BDL81 10371.8 Av 1.16 1.19 1.15 1.11 1.23 BDL81 10374.1 P0.18 0.17 0.35 0.1 0.15 0.41 BDL81 10374.1 Av 1.41 1.41 1.35 1.3 1.351.26 BDL85 10411.1 P 0.16 0.34 0.26 0.23 0.62 <0.01 BDL85 10411.1 Av1.29 1.3 1.28 1.32 1.12 1.1 BDL85 10414.1 P 0.07 BDL85 10414.1 Av 1.02BDL85 10414.2 P 0.71 BDL85 10414.2 Av 1.1 Table 25. Results of thegreenhouse experiments. Provided are the measured values of eachparameter [parameters (Par.) 11-20 according to the parameters describedin Table 23 above] in plants expressing the indicated polynucleotides.“Ev” = event; “P” = P-value; “Av” = ratio between the averages of eventand control. Note that when the average ratio is higher than “1” theeffect of exogenous expression of the gene is an increase of the desiredtrait;

TABLE 26 Results from greenhouse experiments Gene Ev. Par 21 22 23 24 2526 27 28 29 30 BDL102 10471.1 P 0.18 0.42 0.39 0.46 0.46 BDL102 10471.1Av 1.15 1.82 1.16 1.13 1.13 BDL102 10471.3 P 0.48 BDL102 10471.3 Av 1.38BDL102 10472.1 P 0.01 0.54 0.17 0.22 0.22 0.43 BDL102 10472.1 Av 1.262.05 1.28 1.24 1.24 1.11 BDL102 10474.1 P 0.06 0.29 0.01 0.02 0.17 0.020.1 BDL102 10474.1 Av 1.15 1.43 1.54 1.48 1.14 1.48 1.29 BDL102 10474.2P 0.03 0.1 0.18 0.18 BDL102 10474.2 Av 1.14 1.32 1.25 1.25 BDL10210474.6 P 0.02 0.55 BDL102 10474.6 Av 1.02 1.76 BDL117 10071.2 P 0.24BDL117 10071.2 Av 1.15 BDL117 10073.2 P 0.46 0.01 0.01 BDL117 10073.2 Av1.19 1.2 1.14 BDL117 10074.1 P 0.53 0.08 0.08 0.03 0.11 0.02 BDL11710074.1 Av 1.13 1.28 1.22 1.42 1.18 1.44 BDL117 10074.4 P 0.33 0.19 0.14BDL117 10074.4 Av 1.16 1.24 1.26 BDL117 10071.2 P 0.21 BDL117 10071.2 Av1.16 BDL117 10073.1 P 0.35 0.43 0.47 BDL117 10073.1 Av 1.17 1.14 1.16BDL117 10073.2 P 0.09 0.16 0.08 0.16 BDL117 10073.2 Av 1.3 1.25 1.2 1.25BDL117 10074.1 P 0.16 0.29 0.08 0.1 0.08 BDL117 10074.1 Av 1.24 1.121.31 1.17 1.31 BDL117 10074.4 P 0.71 0.54 0.43 0.27 0.43 BDL117 10074.4Av 1.14 1.1 1.13 1.1 1.13 BDL138 9811.1 P 0.15 BDL138 9811.1 Av 1.13BDL138 9811.4 P 0.41 0.03 <0.01 BDL138 9811.4 Av 1.21 1.07 1.26 BDL1389812.1 P <0.01 0.42 <0.01 BDL138 9812.1 Av 1.14 1.16 1.2 BDL138 9812.3 P0.07 BDL138 9812.3 Av 1.02 BDL138 9813.1 P 0.28 BDL138 9813.1 Av 1.13BDL138 9813.3 P 0.06 0.55 BDL138 9813.3 Av 1.3 1.12 BDL138 9811.1 P 0.04BDL138 9811.1 Av 1.02 BDL138 9813.1 P 0.56 0.1 BDL138 9813.1 Av 1.191.18 BDL138 9813.4 P 0.75 BDL138 9813.4 Av 1.14 BDL138 9811.4 P 0.29BDL138 9811.4 Av 1.1 BDL138 9812.1 P 0.39 BDL138 9812.1 Av 1.61 BDL1389813.1 P 0.14 0.29 BDL138 9813.1 Av 1.33 1.12 BDL138 9813.3 P 0.36 0.09BDL138 9813.3 Av 1.87 1.07 BDL140 10421.3 P 0.84 0.37 BDL140 10421.3 Av1.16 1.18 BDL140 10424.3 P 0.47 BDL140 10424.3 Av 1.18 BDL140 10421.2 P0.02 0.22 BDL140 10421.2 Av 1.14 1.12 BDL140 10423.1 P 0.08 BDL14010423.1 Av 1.03 BDL147 10301.3 P 0.54 BDL147 10301.3 Av 1.17 BDL14710303.1 P 0.01 0.53 0.32 0.32 BDL147 10303.1 Av 1.02 1.11 1.18 1.18BDL147 10303.6 P 0.07 BDL147 10303.6 Av 1.02 BDL147 10304.2 P <0.01 0.55BDL147 10304.2 Av 1.04 1.1 BDL147 10301.5 P 0.36 BDL147 10301.5 Av 1.15BDL147 10301.6 P 0.02 BDL147 10301.6 Av 1.14 BDL147 10303.1 P 0.01BDL147 10303.1 Av 1.29 BDL147 10303.5 P 0.02 0.43 0.31 0.08 BDL14710303.5 Av 1.17 1.17 1.12 1.09 BDL147 10304.2 P 0.04 0.36 0.36 BDL14710304.2 Av 1.23 1.14 1.14 BDL149 9823.1 P 0.04 0.05 0.11 BDL149 9823.1Av 1.17 1.19 1.17 BDL149 9823.3 P <0.01 <0.01 0.23 0.34 0.42 BDL1499823.3 Av 1.17 1.14 1.12 1.12 1.14 BDL149 9824.3 P 0.34 BDL149 9824.3 Av1.11 BDL149 9824.4 P 0.28 0.11 0.08 <0.01 BDL149 9824.4 Av 1.17 1.28 1.31.15 BDL149 9823.3 P 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.1 BDL149 9823.3 Av 1.12 1.12 1.121.08 BDL149 9824.3 P 0.27 BDL149 9824.3 Av 1.14 BDL152 10431.1 P 0.01BDL152 10431.1 Av 1.02 BDL152 10432.5 P 0.37 BDL152 10432.5 Av 1.17BDL152 10434.1 P 0.05 BDL152 10434.1 Av 1.16 BDL152 10434.4 P 0.58 0.270.3 0.32 0.31 0.32 0.56 BDL152 10434.4 Av 1.14 1.17 1.19 1.19 1.15 1.191.1 BDL152 10431.1 P 0.43 0.58 BDL152 10431.1 Av 1.18 1.1 BDL152 10431.3P 0.02 BDL152 10431.3 Av 1.18 BDL152 10434.1 P 0.42 BDL152 10434.1 Av1.1 BDL152 10434.4 P 0.09 BDL152 10434.4 Av 1.03 BDL153 10141.3 P 0.090.12 0.07 0.23 0.05 BDL153 10141.3 Av 1.02 1.25 1.33 1.13 1.35 BDL15310142.2 P 0.04 0.09 0.01 0.11 <0.01 BDL153 10142.2 Av 1.37 1.22 1.56 1.21.58 BDL153 10143.1 P 0.45 0.48 0.4 BDL153 10143.1 Av 1.12 1.12 1.14BDL153 10144.1 P 0.52 0.25 0.53 0.45 BDL153 10144.1 Av 1.1 1.13 1.111.12 BDL153 10141.3 P 0.22 0.67 0.48 0.39 0.39 BDL153 10141.3 Av 1.281.12 1.11 1.14 1.14 BDL153 10142.2 P 0.05 <0.01 0.63 0.11 0.06 0.04 0.06BDL153 10142.2 Av 1.36 1.2 1.1 1.26 1.33 1.18 1.33 BDL153 10142.3 P 0.260.29 0.2 0.29 BDL153 10142.3 Av 1.19 1.18 1.12 1.18 BDL153 10143.1 P0.09 0.25 BDL153 10143.1 Av 1.09 1.11 BDL153 10143.2 P 0.05 0.47 0.220.36 0.23 0.36 0.23 BDL153 10143.2 Av 1.11 1.11 1.15 1.15 1.1 1.15 1.13BDL153 10144.1 P 0.28 0.26 0.06 0.26 BDL153 10144.1 Av 1.17 1.18 1.171.18 BDL154 10703.1 P 0.11 0.64 0.67 BDL154 10703.1 Av 1.1 1.2 1.27BDL154 10703.5 P 0.37 0.44 0.66 BDL154 10703.5 Av 1.18 1.26 1.13 BDL15410703.6 P 0.25 0.59 0.59 BDL154 10703.6 Av 1.28 1.47 1.29 BDL154 10703.8P 0.29 0.58 0.58 0.58 BDL154 10703.8 Av 1.17 1.1 1.1 1.1 BDL155 9991.3 P0.65 BDL155 9991.3 Av 1.11 BDL155 9991.5 P 0.5 0.34 0.57 0.4 0.57 0.32BDL155 9991.5 Av 1.23 1.17 1.11 1.12 1.11 1.22 BDL155 9991.9 P 0.39BDL155 9991.9 Av 1.22 BDL155 9994.3 P 0.49 0.56 0.4 0.31 0.49 0.31BDL155 9994.3 Av 1.1 1.14 1.15 1.19 1.1 1.19 BDL155 9994.5 P 0.41 BDL1559994.5 Av 1.14 BDL157 9911.3 P 0.25 0.14 BDL157 9911.3 Av 1.54 1.11BDL157 9911.4 P <0.01 BDL157 9911.4 Av 1.26 BDL157 9914.2 P 0.37 BDL1579914.2 Av 1.23 BDL157 9911.3 P 0.08 0.28 BDL157 9911.3 Av 1.15 1.25BDL157 9911.4 P 0.46 BDL157 9911.4 Av 1.23 BDL157 9913.3 P 0.37 BDL1579913.3 Av 1.21 BDL157 9914.2 P 0.45 BDL157 9914.2 Av 1.16 BDL160 10011.5P 0.34 0.54 0.35 BDL160 10011.5 Av 1.59 1.26 1.15 BDL160 10011.6 P 0.030.61 0.67 BDL160 10011.6 Av 1.15 1.23 1.16 BDL160 10011.7 P 0.02 BDL16010011.7 Av 1.16 BDL160 10013.1 P 0.01 0.41 BDL160 10013.1 Av 1.32 1.27BDL160 10015.1 P 0.09 0.09 BDL160 10015.1 Av 1.1 1.14 BDL162 10491.1 P0.42 BDL162 10491.1 Av 1.44 BDL162 10492.2 P 0.04 0.09 0.27 0.09 0.05BDL162 10492.2 Av 1.4 1.34 1.17 1.34 1.44 BDL162 10492.4 P 0.37 0.390.55 BDL162 10492.4 Av 1.83 1.25 1.11 BDL162 10494.1 P 0.63 BDL16210494.1 Av 1.13 BDL167 10042.3 P 0.19 BDL167 10042.3 Av 1.21 BDL16710042.3 P 0.24 BDL167 10042.3 Av 1.15 BDL167 10043.2 P 0.13 0.6 BDL16710043.2 Av 1.13 1.14 BDL167 10043.3 P 0.44 0.27 BDL167 10043.3 Av 1.121.12 BDL167 10043.4 P 0.05 0.33 0.14 BDL167 10043.4 Av 1.16 1.12 1.46BDL167 10044.2 P 0.2 0.27 0.2 0.2 0.24 BDL167 10044.2 Av 1.18 1.18 1.211.21 1.19 BDL168 9881.3 P 0.01 0.01 0.04 0.01 BDL168 9881.3 Av 1.44 1.481.23 1.5 BDL168 9881.4 P 0.36 0.06 0.05 0.07 0.11 0.05 BDL168 9881.4 Av1.14 1.31 1.24 1.33 1.18 1.35 BDL168 9882.1 P 0.51 BDL168 9882.1 Av 1.11BDL168 9882.3 P 0.08 0.09 0.16 0.07 BDL168 9882.3 Av 1.31 1.33 1.17 1.35BDL168 9884.4 P <0.01 0.32 0.46 0.2 0.39 BDL168 9884.4 Av 1.03 1.17 1.141.16 1.16 BDL168 9881.3 P 0.66 <0.01 BDL168 9881.3 Av 1.1 1.19 BDL1689881.4 P 0.12 0.44 0.34 0.14 0.34 BDL168 9881.4 Av 1.17 1.13 1.16 1.131.16 BDL168 9882.1 P 0.53 0.39 0.58 BDL168 9882.1 Av 1.1 1.14 1.13BDL168 9882.3 P 0.01 0.42 0.35 0.18 BDL168 9882.3 Av 1.19 1.1 1.12 1.2BDL168 9883.3 P 0.06 BDL168 9883.3 Av 1.09 BDL168 9884.1 P 0.07 BDL1689884.1 Av 1.17 BDL169 10743.4 P 0.54 0.37 0.65 BDL169 10743.4 Av 1.111.18 1.1 BDL169 10744.1 P 0.28 0.3 BDL169 10744.1 Av 1.12 1.13 BDL16910747.1 P 0.6 0.53 BDL169 10747.1 Av 1.12 1.17 BDL169 10747.5 P 0.610.44 BDL169 10747.5 Av 1.1 1.16 BDL169 10741.3 P 0.73 BDL169 10741.3 Av1.1 BDL169 10744.2 P 0.04 0.05 0.07 0.05 0.84 BDL169 10744.2 Av 1.431.41 1.19 1.41 1.1 BDL169 10747.1 P 0.65 0.43 0.35 0.43 0.43 BDL16910747.1 Av 1.21 1.24 1.18 1.15 1.15 BDL169 10747.3 P 0.4 BDL169 10747.3Av 2.16 BDL169 10747.5 P 0.16 0.53 0.53 BDL169 10747.5 Av 1.27 1.11 1.11BDL171 10661.2 P 0.3 0.31 0.54 0.31 0.34 BDL171 10661.2 Av 1.19 1.21 1.11.21 1.3 BDL171 10661.5 P 0.36 BDL171 10661.5 Av 1.13 BDL171 10664.1 P0.02 0.07 0.03 0.28 0.03 0.67 BDL171 10664.1 Av 1.19 1.39 1.48 1.17 1.481.22 BDL171 10664.3 P 0.34 0.08 0.46 0.08 0.61 BDL171 10664.3 Av 1.171.36 1.11 1.36 1.25 BDL171 10662.2 P 0.09 0.07 BDL171 10662.2 Av 1.451.45 BDL171 10662.3 P 0.42 0.07 0.11 0.21 0.07 0.6 BDL171 10662.3 Av 1.21.33 1.32 1.16 1.4 1.15 BDL171 10663.3 P 0.22 0.01 0.56 BDL171 10663.3Av 1.19 1.51 1.14 BDL171 10664.1 P 0.68 BDL171 10664.1 Av 1.1 BDL17110664.3 P 0.09 0.07 0.48 0.34 BDL171 10664.3 Av 1.02 1.22 1.14 1.21BDL173 9952.1 P 0.18 0.39 0.22 0.51 0.44 BDL173 9952.1 Av 1.13 1.14 1.151.12 1.13 BDL173 9954.2 P 0.09 0.35 BDL173 9954.2 Av 1.08 1.11 BDL1739953.4 P 0.03 0.23 BDL173 9953.4 Av 1.02 1.3 BDL173 9954.2 P 0.02 0.1BDL173 9954.2 Av 1.02 1.11 BDL176 9891.2 P 0.6 0.58 BDL176 9891.2 Av1.24 1.19 BDL176 9892.3 P 0.38 BDL176 9892.3 Av 1.89 BDL176 9893.2 P0.73 BDL176 9893.2 Av 1.11 BDL176 9893.3 P 0.01 0.37 BDL176 9893.3 Av1.02 1.12 BDL177 10521.3 P 0.41 0.53 BDL177 10521.3 Av 1.15 1.1 BDL17710522.2 P 0.44 BDL177 10522.2 Av 1.19 BDL182 10691.2 P 0.45 0.35 0.570.52 0.57 BDL182 10691.2 Av 1.11 1.17 1.11 1.1 1.11 BDL182 10693.2 P0.12 BDL182 10693.2 Av 1.28 BDL182 10693.3 P 0.55 0.55 BDL182 10693.3 Av1.11 1.11 BDL182 10693.5 P 0.01 0.07 BDL182 10693.5 Av 1.28 1.08 BDL18210691.2 P 0.58 BDL182 10691.2 Av 1.12 BDL182 10691.4 P 0.09 0.29 0.11BDL182 10691.4 Av 1.02 1.27 1.2 BDL182 10691.8 P 0.61 BDL182 10691.8 Av1.11 BDL182 10693.2 P 0.38 0.57 0.37 BDL182 10693.2 Av 1.1 1.13 1.12BDL182 10693.3 P 0.69 0.43 0.46 BDL182 10693.3 Av 1.25 1.59 1.25 BDL1839941.1 P 0.37 0.25 0.5 0.42 BDL183 9941.1 Av 1.14 1.14 1.12 1.13 BDL1839942.1 P 0.55 BDL183 9942.1 Av 1.12 BDL183 9942.4 P 0.22 0.09 0.01 0.070.53 BDL183 9942.4 Av 1.24 1.17 1.13 1.21 1.11 BDL183 9943.4 P 0.31 0.530.37 BDL183 9943.4 Av 1.16 1.11 1.1 BDL183 9944.1 P 0.46 0.23 0.18BDL183 9944.1 Av 1.12 1.21 1.23 BDL183 9944.4 P <0.01 BDL183 9944.4 Av1.03 BDL183 9941.1 P 0.38 0.42 0.21 0.42 BDL183 9941.1 Av 1.15 1.13 1.131.13 BDL183 9942.1 P 0.17 0.48 0.42 0.42 BDL183 9942.1 Av 1.15 1.11 1.131.13 BDL183 9942.4 P 0.02 0.21 BDL183 9942.4 Av 1.16 1.13 BDL183 9943.4P 0.35 0.33 0.12 BDL183 9943.4 Av 1.24 1.13 1.16 BDL183 9944.2 P 0.590.5 BDL183 9944.2 Av 1.12 1.14 BDL186 10002.2 P 0.15 0.23 0.14 0.24 0.1BDL186 10002.2 Av 1.23 1.14 1.26 1.13 1.28 BDL186 10004.3 P 0.32 0.390.2 0.33 BDL186 10004.3 Av 1.16 1.16 1.16 1.18 BDL186 10001.3 P 0.46BDL186 10001.3 Av 1.1 BDL186 10004.3 P 0.55 BDL186 10004.3 Av 1.15BDL187 10502.2 P 0.43 BDL187 10502.2 Av 1.21 BDL187 10501.2 P 0.01 0.58BDL187 10501.2 Av 1.02 1.38 BDL187 10502.4 P 0.66 BDL187 10502.4 Av 1.1BDL187 10503.5 P 0.38 0.2 0.34 BDL187 10503.5 Av 1.13 1.24 1.12 BDL18810462.1 P 0.46 BDL188 10462.1 Av 1.41 BDL188 10464.5 P 0.33 BDL18810464.5 Av 1.12 BDL188 10462.1 P 0.38 0.35 0.35 BDL188 10462.1 Av 1.161.18 1.18 BDL188 10462.4 P 0.02 0.41 0.26 0.24 0.24 BDL188 10462.4 Av1.02 1.32 1.2 1.22 1.22 BDL188 10464.3 P 0.66 BDL188 10464.3 Av 1.24BDL188 10464.5 P 0.29 0.1 BDL188 10464.5 Av 1.38 1.12 BDL190 10232.2 P0.6 BDL190 10232.2 Av 1.1 BDL190 10233.4 P 0.01 BDL190 10233.4 Av 1.2BDL190 10234.1 P 0.01 0.4 BDL190 10234.1 Av 1.02 1.14 BDL190 10231.1 P0.42 0.24 BDL190 10231.1 Av 1.18 1.21 BDL190 10231.2 P 0.64 0.5 BDL19010231.2 Av 1.14 1.2 BDL190 10232.2 P <0.01 0.26 0.14 0.14 BDL190 10232.2Av 1.29 1.18 1.25 1.25 BDL190 10233.2 P 0.1 0.29 0.05 0.01 0.05 BDL19010233.2 Av 1.25 1.13 1.32 1.24 1.32 BDL190 10233.4 P 0.16 0.29 0.29 0.29BDL190 10233.4 Av 1.23 1.17 1.1 1.17 BDL190 10234.2 P 0.04 0.02 BDL19010234.2 Av 1.11 1.09 BDL192 9921.3 P 0.54 0.56 0.16 BDL192 9921.3 Av1.19 1.11 1.16 BDL192 9921.6 P 0.51 0.47 0.4 BDL192 9921.6 Av 1.1 1.121.14 BDL192 9922.1 P 0.52 BDL192 9922.1 Av 1.11 BDL192 9922.2 P <0.01BDL192 9922.2 Av 1.02 BDL192 9921.6 P 0.49 0.03 0.45 0.45 BDL192 9921.6Av 1.15 1.25 1.16 1.16 BDL192 9922.5 P 0.54 0.51 BDL192 9922.5 Av 1.131.15 BDL193 10152.2 P 0.15 BDL193 10152.2 Av 1.17 BDL193 10152.3 P 0.30.1 BDL193 10152.3 Av 1.11 1.2 BDL193 10153.2 P 0.24 BDL193 10153.2 Av1.14 BDL193 10153.4 P 0.04 0.39 0.4 0.33 BDL193 10153.4 Av 1.02 1.141.14 1.16 BDL193 10152.2 P 0.7 BDL193 10152.2 Av 1.12 BDL193 10152.3 P0.14 BDL193 10152.3 Av 1.16 BDL193 10153.2 P 0.01 BDL193 10153.2 Av 1.02BDL193 10153.3 P 0.35 0.4 0.48 0.48 BDL193 10153.3 Av 1.22 1.1 1.14 1.14BDL193 10153.4 P 0.63 0.5 0.5 BDL193 10153.4 Av 1.1 1.14 1.14 BDL19610241.3 P 0.5 BDL196 10241.3 Av 1.1 BDL196 10243.1 P 0.01 0.56 0.56BDL196 10243.1 Av 1.08 1.14 1.14 BDL196 10243.2 P 0.37 BDL196 10243.2 Av1.29 BDL196 10244.1 P 0.02 0.22 0.82 0.02 BDL196 10244.1 Av 1.21 1.111.1 1.13 BDL201 9961.3 P 0.12 0.12 0.31 0.12 BDL201 9961.3 Av 1.31 1.321.16 1.32 BDL201 9961.4 P 0.62 BDL201 9961.4 Av 1.14 BDL201 9961.6 P0.01 0.01 BDL201 9961.6 Av 1.02 1.54 BDL201 9963.6 P 0.46 0.37 0.21BDL201 9963.6 Av 1.29 1.13 1.15 BDL220 10331.5 P 0.76 BDL220 10331.5 Av1.13 BDL220 10331.7 P 0.62 0.42 0.29 BDL220 10331.7 Av 1.21 1.17 1.18BDL220 10333.2 P 0.62 BDL220 10333.2 Av 1.49 BDL220 10333.5 P 0.01 0.250.26 0.65 BDL220 10333.5 Av 1.13 1.22 1.18 1.14 BDL220 10334.1 P <0.010.36 0.64 BDL220 10334.1 Av 1.04 1.31 1.11 BDL223 10791.1 P 0.51 BDL22310791.1 Av 1.78 BDL223 10793.1 P 0.02 0.58 BDL223 10793.1 Av 1.16 1.34BDL223 10793.3 P 0.7 BDL223 10793.3 Av 1.1 BDL223 10793.5 P 0.01 <0.010.42 0.48 0.48 0.18 BDL223 10793.5 Av 1.18 1.41 1.15 1.13 1.13 1.17BDL223 10793.8 P 0.6 BDL223 10793.8 Av 1.36 BDL224 10451.3 P 0.61 0.50.61 BDL224 10451.3 Av 1.1 1.11 1.1 BDL224 10451.7 P 0.78 BDL224 10451.7Av 1.11 BDL224 10451.8 P 0.03 0.54 BDL224 10451.8 Av 1.78 1.11 BDL22410453.1 P 0.77 BDL224 10453.1 Av 1.11 BDL224 10453.3 P 0.62 0.39 BDL22410453.3 Av 1.82 1.14 BDL225 10401.4 P 0.18 BDL225 10401.4 Av 1.17 BDL22510402.2 P 0.29 0.74 BDL225 10402.2 Av 1.28 1.1 BDL225 10402.5 P 0.38BDL225 10402.5 Av 1.13 BDL225 10401.4 P 0.5 0.65 BDL225 10401.4 Av 1.121.15 BDL225 10402.2 P 0.42 0.38 BDL225 10402.2 Av 1.1 1.15 BDL22510402.6 P 0.38 BDL225 10402.6 Av 1.15 BDL225 10402.9 P 0.07 0.01 BDL22510402.9 Av 1.14 1.15 BDL226 10861.2 P 0.53 0.54 BDL226 10861.2 Av 1.221.12 BDL226 10862.2 P 0.03 BDL226 10862.2 Av 1.03 BDL226 10864.2 P 0.440.58 0.32 0.21 BDL226 10864.2 Av 1.17 1.1 1.2 1.27 BDL226 10861.1 P 0.680.72 BDL226 10861.1 Av 1.27 1.21 BDL226 10861.4 P 0.04 0.41 BDL22610861.4 Av 1.13 1.44 BDL226 10862.2 P 0.21 BDL226 10862.2 Av 1.51 BDL22610863.4 P 0.53 BDL226 10863.4 Av 2.04 BDL227 11491.1 P 0.08 0.45 BDL22711491.1 Av 1.17 2.04 BDL227 11491.3 P 0.13 0.34 0.08 BDL227 11491.3 Av1.1 1.78 1.15 BDL227 11491.5 P 0.66 BDL227 11491.5 Av 1.15 BDL22711492.3 P 0.04 0.71 0.48 0.49 0.49 0.02 BDL227 11492.3 Av 1.13 1.15 1.131.12 1.12 1.2 BDL227 11492.5 P 0.66 BDL227 11492.5 Av 1.29 BDL22711493.5 P 0.65 BDL227 11493.5 Av 1.38 BDL230 10672.4 P 0.79 BDL23010672.4 Av 1.1 BDL230 10673.2 P 0.42 BDL230 10673.2 Av 1.1 BDL23310822.1 P 0.14 BDL233 10822.1 Av 1.37 BDL233 10822.2 P 0.02 0.46 BDL23310822.2 Av 1.16 1.4 BDL233 10824.2 P 0.46 BDL233 10824.2 Av 1.69 BDL23310825.4 P 0.03 0.16 0.15 0.19 0.12 0.19 BDL233 10825.4 Av 1.16 1.15 1.31.26 1.17 1.26 BDL237 10892.2 P 0.23 BDL237 10892.2 Av 1.15 BDL23710893.1 P 0.48 BDL237 10893.1 Av 2.25 BDL237 10895.1 P 0.57 0.48 0.470.54 0.54 BDL237 10895.1 Av 1.11 1.28 1.35 1.11 1.11 BDL237 10895.2 P0.61 BDL237 10895.2 Av 1.11 BDL237 10895.3 P 0.03 0.48 BDL237 10895.3 Av1.18 2.07 BDL238 10951.4 P 0.03 BDL238 10951.4 Av 1.16 BDL238 10952.3 P0.12 0.16 BDL238 10952.3 Av 1.15 1.16 BDL238 10953.1 P 0.43 BDL23810953.1 Av 1.2 BDL238 10953.3 P 0.36 BDL238 10953.3 Av 1.18 BDL23810954.2 P 0.02 0.01 0.05 0.01 0.04 BDL238 10954.2 Av 1.45 1.5 1.19 1.51.25 BDL238 10954.3 P 0.16 BDL238 10954.3 Av 1.77 BDL240 10802.2 P 0.240.44 0.1 0.07 0.06 0.07 0.25 BDL240 10802.2 Av 1.15 1.45 1.3 1.35 1.181.35 1.28 BDL240 10803.1 P 0.62 BDL240 10803.1 Av 1.45 BDL240 10803.5 P0.63 BDL240 10803.5 Av 1.4 BDL240 10806.2 P 0.09 0.39 BDL240 10806.2 Av1.1 1.11 BDL241 10873.1 P 0.55 0.11 0.09 0.17 0.09 0.34 BDL241 10873.1Av 1.86 1.32 1.33 1.13 1.33 1.25 BDL241 10873.4 P 0.44 BDL241 10873.4 Av1.73 BDL241 10874.2 P <0.01 BDL241 10874.2 Av 1.03 BDL241 10875.1 P 0.33BDL241 10875.1 Av 1.57 BDL241 10875.2 P 0.58 0.09 BDL241 10875.2 Av 1.481.19 BDL242 10731.2 P 0.59 0.46 0.46 BDL242 10731.2 Av 1.1 1.14 1.14BDL242 10731.3 P <0.01 BDL242 10731.3 Av 1.74 BDL242 10731.5 P 0.7BDL242 10731.5 Av 1.18 BDL242 10731.6 P 0.63 0.07 0.07 0.09 0.07 0.04BDL242 10731.6 Av 1.48 1.36 1.35 1.17 1.35 1.16 BDL242 10731.7 P 0.18BDL242 10731.7 Av 2.28 BDL242 10737.2 P 0.07 BDL242 10737.2 Av 1.22BDL245 10811.3 P 0.22 0.05 <0.01 0.2 BDL245 10811.3 Av 1.47 1.25 1.251.16 BDL245 10813.3 P 0.28 0.02 0.22 BDL245 10813.3 Av 1.17 1.33 1.15BDL245 10811.2 P 0.37 0.3 BDL245 10811.2 Av 1.22 1.49 BDL245 10811.3 P0.21 0.12 0.5 BDL245 10811.3 Av 1.18 1.44 1.79 BDL245 10812.3 P 0.550.11 BDL245 10812.3 Av 2.2 1.12 BDL245 10813.3 P 0.37 0.45 0.04 BDL24510813.3 Av 1.19 1.1 1.26 BDL245 10816.3 P 0.52 0.23 BDL245 10816.3 Av1.81 1.14 BDL247 10911.4 P 0.42 BDL247 10911.4 Av 1.1 BDL247 10912.1 P0.48 0.58 BDL247 10912.1 Av 1.26 1.16 BDL247 10912.6 P 0.6 BDL24710912.6 Av 1.33 BDL248 11051.2 P 0.45 BDL248 11051.2 Av 1.14 BDL25010841.3 P 0.2 0.13 0.58 0.36 0.36 BDL250 10841.3 Av 1.14 1.16 1.1 1.171.17 BDL250 10842.1 P 0.45 0.37 BDL250 10842.1 Av 1.12 1.31 BDL25010842.3 P 0.02 0.46 BDL250 10842.3 Av 1.15 1.14 BDL250 10843.2 P 0.42BDL250 10843.2 Av 1.19 BDL250 10846.2 P 0.01 0.06 BDL250 10846.2 Av 1.171.22 BDL250 10846.3 P 0.48 0.22 0.26 0.34 0.25 0.34 BDL250 10846.3 Av1.13 1.11 1.23 1.19 1.12 1.19 BDL252 10881.1 P 0.54 BDL252 10881.1 Av2.4 BDL252 10882.1 P 0.59 0.24 0.2 0.14 0.2 BDL252 10882.1 Av 1.24 1.221.24 1.16 1.24 BDL252 10882.2 P 0.5 0.71 BDL252 10882.2 Av 1.52 1.27BDL252 10882.4 P 0.52 BDL252 10882.4 Av 2.2 BDL252 10884.1 P 0.22 0.27BDL252 10884.1 Av 1.16 1.28 BDL48 10271.1 P 0.01 0.34 BDL48 10271.1 Av1.22 1.3 BDL48 10271.3 P 0.33 0.31 BDL48 10271.3 Av 1.23 1.17 BDL4810271.5 P <0.01 BDL48 10271.5 Av 1.03 BDL48 10274.4 P 0.5 0.02 0.01 0.070.52 0.06 0.15 0.06 0.01 BDL48 10274.4 Av 2.17 1.24 1.13 1.34 1.11 1.371.22 1.37 1.51 BDL48 10271.1 P 0.13 0.12 0.08 0.03 0.08 BDL48 10271.1 Av1.25 1.17 1.29 1.2 1.29 BDL48 10271.3 P 0.21 BDL48 10271.3 Av 1.1 BDL4810271.5 P <0.01 BDL48 10271.5 Av 1.26 BDL48 10274.3 P 0.01 0.31 0.180.18 BDL48 10274.3 Av 1.18 1.15 1.21 1.21 BDL48 10274.4 P 0.57 0.22 0.120.18 0.12 BDL48 10274.4 Av 1.13 1.2 1.27 1.12 1.27 BDL48 10274.5 P <0.010.45 0.35 0.2 0.3 0.2 BDL48 10274.5 Av 1.16 1.13 1.11 1.22 1.1 1.22BDL58 10281.2 P 0.26 0.27 BDL58 10281.2 Av 1.11 1.19 BDL58 10281.3 P0.65 0.64 BDL58 10281.3 Av 1.23 1.2 BDL58 10281.5 P 0.01 BDL58 10281.5Av 1.12 BDL58 10282.3 P 0.02 BDL58 10282.3 Av 1.11 BDL63 10381.1 P 0.620.25 0.39 BDL63 10381.1 Av 1.35 1.28 1.11 BDL63 10381.2 P 0.1 0.19 0.39BDL63 10381.2 Av 1.67 1.19 1.12 BDL63 10384.5 P 0.54 0.05 0.29 BDL6310384.5 Av 1.95 1.09 1.19 BDL63 10381.1 P 0.06 0.02 0.04 0.02 <0.01BDL63 10381.1 Av 1.31 1.4 1.18 1.4 1.16 BDL63 10381.2 P 0.06 0.19 0.10.07 0.1 BDL63 10381.2 Av 1.02 1.25 1.32 1.2 1.32 BDL63 10384.2 P 0.410.45 <0.01 BDL63 10384.2 Av 1.14 1.12 1.17 BDL63 10384.3 P 0.3 BDL6310384.3 Av 1.14 BDL63 10384.7 P 0.04 <0.01 BDL63 10384.7 Av 1.12 1.16BDL63 10384.8 P 0.12 0.11 0.06 0.11 0.31 BDL63 10384.8 Av 1.25 1.26 1.171.26 1.12 BDL79 11041.1 P 0.13 0.49 0.77 BDL79 11041.1 Av 1.11 2.06 1.1BDL79 11042.1 P 0.09 0.2 0.54 0.54 BDL79 11042.1 Av 1.15 1.16 1.11 1.11BDL79 11042.3 P 0.46 BDL79 11042.3 Av 1.37 BDL79 11043.1 P 0.47 BDL7911043.1 Av 1.92 BDL79 11044.3 P 0.01 0.15 BDL79 11044.3 Av 1.21 1.23BDL81 10371.5 P 0.6 BDL81 10371.5 Av 1.27 BDL81 10371.8 P 0.51 BDL8110371.8 Av 2.2 BDL81 10372.1 P 0.54 BDL81 10372.1 Av 2.43 BDL81 10372.2P 0.06 0.66 BDL81 10372.2 Av 1.12 1.28 BDL81 10374.1 P 0.42 BDL8110374.1 Av 1.99 BDL81 10371.5 P 0.01 0.25 0.37 0.14 0.37 0.07 BDL8110371.5 Av 1.13 1.18 1.14 1.13 1.14 1.11 BDL81 10371.8 P 0.2 0.05 0.020.33 0.23 0.19 0.23 0.04 BDL81 10371.8 Av 1.12 1.1 1.1 1.19 1.24 1.181.24 1.07 BDL81 10372.1 P 0.05 BDL81 10372.1 Av 1.1 BDL81 10372.2 P 0.330.4 0.59 BDL81 10372.2 Av 1.13 1.29 1.18 BDL81 10373.2 P 0.01 BDL8110373.2 Av 1.19 BDL81 10374.1 P 0.06 0.02 0.23 0.02 0.04 BDL81 10374.1Av 1.35 1.48 1.14 1.48 1.15 BDL85 10411.1 P 0.01 0.12 0.12 0.26 0.120.07 BDL85 10411.1 Av 1.09 1.29 1.28 1.12 1.28 1.16 BDL85 10411.3 P 0.59BDL85 10411.3 Av 1.51 BDL85 10412.2 P 0.62 BDL85 10412.2 Av 1.6 BDL8510414.1 P 0.1 BDL85 10414.1 Av 1.03 BDL85 10414.2 P 0.62 BDL85 10414.2Av 1.19 Table 26. Results of the greenhouse experiments. Provided arethe measured values of each parameter [parameters (Par.) 21-30 accordingto the parameters described in Table 23 above] in plants expressing theindicated polynucleotides. “Ev” = event; “P” = P-value; “Av” = ratiobetween the averages of event and control. Note that when the averageratio is higher than “1” the effect of exogenous expression of the geneis an increase of the desired trait;

TABLE 27 Results from greenhouse experiments Gene Ev. Par 31 32 33 34 3536 37 BDL102 10471.1 P 0.12 BDL102 10471.1 Av 1.12 BDL102 10474.1 P 0.26BDL102 10474.1 Av 1.35 BDL117 10074.1 P 0.69 BDL117 10074.1 Av 1.1BDL117 10074.4 P 0.45 BDL117 10074.4 Av 1.14 BDL138 9811.1 P 0.06 0.110.22 BDL138 9811.1 Av 1.18 1.11 1.1 BDL138 9811.4 P <0.01 0.19 0.48BDL138 9811.4 Av 1.21 1.11 1.2 BDL138 9813.1 P 0.1 0.02 BDL138 9813.1 Av1.17 1.05 BDL138 9813.4 P 0.01 BDL138 9813.4 Av 1.08 BDL138 9811.1 P0.26 0.58 BDL138 9811.1 Av 1.15 1.13 BDL138 9811.4 P <0.01 0.02 BDL1389811.4 Av 1.18 1.18 BDL138 9812.1 P 0.01 0.03 0.1 BDL138 9812.1 Av 1.131.1 1.07 BDL138 9813.1 P 0.02 0.09 BDL138 9813.1 Av 1.09 1.08 BDL1389813.3 P 0.09 0.03 BDL138 9813.3 Av 1.17 1.16 BDL140 10423.1 P 0.71BDL140 10423.1 Av 1.11 BDL147 10301.5 P 0.01 BDL147 10301.5 Av 1.1BDL147 10301.6 P 0.06 0.02 BDL147 10301.6 Av 1.14 1.09 BDL147 10303.1 P0.16 0.66 BDL147 10303.1 Av 1.11 1.14 BDL147 10303.5 P 0.01 0.01 BDL14710303.5 Av 1.13 1.11 BDL147 10303.6 P 0.1 BDL147 10303.6 Av 1.13 BDL1499824.4 P 0.01 BDL149 9824.4 Av 1.19 BDL152 10434.4 P 0.8 BDL152 10434.4Av 1.13 BDL153 10143.1 P 0.65 0.52 BDL153 10143.1 Av 1.1 1.19 BDL15310143.2 P 0.26 0.05 BDL153 10143.2 Av 1.1 1.02 BDL155 9991.5 P 0.56BDL155 9991.5 Av 1.23 BDL155 9991.9 P 0.1 BDL155 9991.9 Av 1.31 BDL1559993.2 P 0.62 BDL155 9993.2 Av 1.1 BDL155 9994.3 P 0.47 BDL155 9994.3 Av1.14 BDL157 9911.3 P 0.02 0.33 BDL157 9911.3 Av 1.32 1.19 BDL157 9911.4P 0.64 BDL157 9911.4 Av 1.14 BDL157 9913.1 P 0.01 <0.01 BDL157 9913.1 Av1.19 1.08 BDL157 9913.3 P 0.11 BDL157 9913.3 Av 1.17 BDL157 9914.2 P0.13 0.4 BDL157 9914.2 Av 1.18 1.1 BDL157 9911.3 P 0.15 BDL157 9911.3 Av1.13 BDL157 9913.1 P 0.36 BDL157 9913.1 Av 1.15 BDL157 9913.3 P 0.03BDL157 9913.3 Av 1.06 BDL157 9914.2 P 0.22 BDL157 9914.2 Av 1.18 BDL16210492.2 P 0.1 BDL162 10492.2 Av 1.8 BDL167 10042.3 P 0.14 BDL167 10042.3Av 1.15 BDL167 10042.4 P 0.01 0.01 0.19 0.01 BDL167 10042.4 Av 1.15 1.051.1 1.06 BDL167 10043.1 P 0.01 0.04 <0.01 BDL167 10043.1 Av 1.16 1.061.1 BDL167 10043.3 P 0.04 0.08 0.01 BDL167 10043.3 Av 1.15 1.05 1.06BDL167 10044.2 P 0.52 BDL167 10044.2 Av 1.11 BDL167 10043.2 P 0.44 0.07BDL167 10043.2 Av 1.22 1.08 BDL167 10043.3 P <0.01 BDL167 10043.3 Av 1.2BDL167 10043.4 P 0.22 0.2 BDL167 10043.4 Av 1.21 1.2 BDL167 10044.2 P0.1 0.05 BDL167 10044.2 Av 1.22 1.03 BDL168 9881.3 P <0.01 BDL168 9881.3Av 1.27 BDL168 9881.4 P 0.4 0.42 BDL168 9881.4 Av 1.21 1.2 BDL168 9882.1P 0.11 BDL168 9882.1 Av 1.39 BDL168 9882.3 P 0.18 BDL168 9882.3 Av 1.32BDL169 10744.2 P 0.57 BDL169 10744.2 Av 1.16 BDL169 10747.1 P 0.46BDL169 10747.1 Av 1.11 BDL169 10747.5 P 0.28 BDL169 10747.5 Av 1.16BDL171 10661.2 P 0.7 BDL171 10661.2 Av 1.23 BDL171 10664.1 P 0.6 BDL17110664.1 Av 1.39 BDL173 9951.2 P 0.66 BDL173 9951.2 Av 1.13 BDL173 9952.1P 0.21 0.12 BDL173 9952.1 Av 1.23 1.14 BDL173 9952.2 P 0.14 0.64 0.340.04 BDL173 9952.2 Av 1.1 1.15 1.11 1.04 BDL173 9953.4 P 0.58 <0.01 0.470.06 BDL173 9953.4 Av 1.13 1.41 1.1 1.1 BDL173 9954.2 P 0.12 0.05 0.22BDL173 9954.2 Av 1.17 1.08 1.1 BDL173 9954.5 P <0.01 0.04 0.57 0.07BDL173 9954.5 Av 1.21 1.09 1.13 1.03 BDL176 9891.2 P 0.01 <0.01 0.310.01 <0.01 BDL176 9891.2 Av 1.17 1.06 1.22 1.14 1.06 BDL176 9891.4 P<0.01 0.05 BDL176 9891.4 Av 1.23 1.11 BDL176 9892.3 P <0.01 <0.01 0.09BDL176 9892.3 Av 1.34 1.17 1.03 BDL176 9893.2 P 0.08 0.16 0.25 BDL1769893.2 Av 1.23 1.15 1.13 BDL176 9893.3 P <0.01 0.01 0.12 BDL176 9893.3Av 1.2 1.36 1.22 BDL177 10521.3 P 0.03 BDL177 10521.3 Av 1.43 BDL17710524.2 P 0.22 BDL177 10524.2 Av 1.28 BDL183 9941.1 P 0.58 BDL183 9941.1Av 1.1 BDL183 9942.1 P 0.08 BDL183 9942.1 Av 1.11 BDL183 9943.4 P <0.01BDL183 9943.4 Av 1.25 BDL183 9944.2 P 0.29 BDL183 9944.2 Av 1.24 BDL19010232.2 P 0.27 0.54 BDL190 10232.2 Av 1.14 1.13 BDL190 10233.2 P 0.380.03 BDL190 10233.2 Av 1.13 1.04 BDL190 10233.4 P 0.03 <0.01 0.05 BDL19010233.4 Av 1.13 1.34 1.12 BDL190 10234.1 P 0.21 0.03 0.53 BDL190 10234.1Av 1.16 1.03 1.19 BDL190 10231.1 P 0.07 0.07 0.01 BDL190 10231.1 Av 1.061.09 1.15 BDL190 10231.2 P 0.33 BDL190 10231.2 Av 1.4 BDL190 10232.2 P0.04 BDL190 10232.2 Av 1.08 BDL190 10233.2 P 0.25 BDL190 10233.2 Av 1.25BDL192 9921.1 P 0.22 0.11 0.07 BDL192 9921.1 Av 1.18 1.1 1.03 BDL1929922.1 P 0.01 0.04 BDL192 9922.1 Av 1.15 1.06 BDL192 9922.2 P 0.02 0.04<0.01 BDL192 9922.2 Av 1.21 1.09 1.12 BDL192 9922.5 P 0.68 BDL192 9922.5Av 1.1 BDL193 10152.2 P 0.08 BDL193 10152.2 Av 1.04 BDL196 10243.2 P0.01 BDL196 10243.2 Av 1.14 BDL201 9963.6 P 0.15 BDL201 9963.6 Av 1.28BDL201 9964.3 P 0.15 BDL201 9964.3 Av 1.36 BDL220 10333.5 P 0.35 BDL22010333.5 Av 1.19 BDL223 10793.5 P 0.05 BDL223 10793.5 Av 1.15 BDL22410451.8 P 0.02 BDL224 10451.8 Av 1.5 BDL225 10401.1 P 0.08 BDL22510401.1 Av 1.32 BDL225 10401.4 P 0.01 BDL225 10401.4 Av 1.52 BDL22510402.2 P 0.03 BDL225 10402.2 Av 1.43 BDL225 10402.5 P 0.26 BDL22510402.5 Av 1.39 BDL225 10402.6 P 0.08 BDL225 10402.6 Av 1.57 BDL22510402.9 P 0.12 BDL225 10402.9 Av 1.36 BDL226 10861.2 P 0.35 BDL22610861.2 Av 1.1 BDL227 11492.3 P 0.05 BDL227 11492.3 Av 1.15 BDL23310825.4 P 0.53 BDL233 10825.4 Av 1.13 BDL238 10954.2 P <0.01 BDL23810954.2 Av 1.34 BDL240 10802.2 P 0.23 BDL240 10802.2 Av 1.3 BDL24110873.1 P 0.07 BDL241 10873.1 Av 1.29 BDL242 10731.2 P 0.62 BDL24210731.2 Av 1.1 BDL242 10731.6 P 0.04 BDL242 10731.6 Av 1.21 BDL25010846.3 P 0.53 BDL250 10846.3 Av 1.15 BDL48 10271.1 P 0.2 BDL48 10271.1Av 1.23 BDL48 10271.3 P 0.08 BDL48 10271.3 Av 1.48 BDL48 10273.2 P 0.58BDL48 10273.2 Av 1.12 BDL48 10274.4 P 0.01 BDL48 10274.4 Av 1.95 BDL4810271.3 P 0.01 0.01 BDL48 10271.3 Av 1.12 1.1 BDL48 10271.5 P 0.06 0.1BDL48 10271.5 Av 1.06 1.05 BDL48 10274.3 P <0.01 BDL48 10274.3 Av 1.44BDL48 10274.4 P 0.08 BDL48 10274.4 Av 1.05 BDL58 10282.3 P 0.63 BDL5810282.3 Av 1.19 BDL63 10384.3 P 0.26 BDL63 10384.3 Av 1.27 BDL63 10381.1P <0.01 0.06 BDL63 10381.1 Av 1.26 1.08 BDL63 10381.2 P 0.56 BDL6310381.2 Av 1.14 BDL63 10384.2 P <0.01 0.04 BDL63 10384.2 Av 1.27 1.08BDL63 10384.3 P 0.01 0.02 0.3 0.01 BDL63 10384.3 Av 1.12 1.09 1.15 1.04BDL63 10384.7 P 0.05 0.06 0.08 BDL63 10384.7 Av 1.07 1.07 1.15 BDL6310384.8 P 0.51 BDL63 10384.8 Av 1.13 BDL81 10371.5 P <0.01 0.01 <0.010.23 0.04 BDL81 10371.5 Av 1.13 1.1 1.15 1.14 1.02 BDL81 10371.8 P 0.03BDL81 10371.8 Av 1.08 BDL81 10372.1 P <0.01 0.01 BDL81 10372.1 Av 1.171.1 BDL81 10372.2 P 0.22 0.1 0.59 BDL81 10372.2 Av 1.11 1.11 1.14 BDL8110373.2 P 0.05 BDL81 10373.2 Av 1.07 BDL81 10374.1 P 0.05 BDL81 10374.1Av 1.2 BDL85 10411.1 P 0.1 BDL85 10411.1 Av 1.21 Table 27. Results ofthe greenhouse experiments. Provided are the measured values of eachparameter [parameters (Par.) 31-37 according to the parameters describedin Table 23 above] in plants expressing the indicated polynucleotides.“Ev” = event; “P” = P-value; “Av” = ratio between the averages of eventand control. Note that when the average ratio is higher than “1” theeffect of exogenous expression of the gene is an increase of the desiredtrait;

Example 10 Production of Tomato Transcriptom and High ThroughputCorrelation Analysis of Yield and/or Vigor Related Parameters Using 44KTomato Oligonucleotide Micro-Array: Tomato Field Experiments

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the presentinventors utilized a Tomato oligonucleotide micro-array, produced byAgilent Technologies [Hypertext Transfer Protocol://World Wide Web (dot)chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. Thearray oligonucleotide represents about 44,000 Toamto genes andtranscripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNAexpression with yield components, ABST or vigor related parametersvarious plant characteristics of 18 different Tomato varieties wereanalyzed. Among them, 10 varieties encompassing the observed variancewere selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between theRNA levels and the characterized parameters in field experiments wasanalyzed using Pearson correlation test [Hypertext TransferProtocol://World Wide Web (dot) davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739(dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

Growth procedure in tomato field experiments—Tomato varieties were grownunder normal conditions (4-6 Liters/m² per day) until flower stage.

RNA extraction—Leaves at different developmental stages, representingdifferent plant characteristics, were sampled and RNA was extractedusing TRIzol Reagent from Invitrogen [Hypertext TransferProtocol://World Wide Web (dot) invitrogen (dot) com/content(dot)cfm?pageid=469].

Approximately 30-50 mg of tissue was taken from samples. The weightedtissues were ground using pestle and mortar in liquid nitrogen andresuspended in 500 μl of TRIzol Reagent. To the homogenized lysate, 100μl of chloroform was added followed by precipitation using isopropanoland two washes with 75% ethanol. The RNA was eluted in 30 μl ofRNase-free water. RNA samples were cleaned up using Qiagen's RNeasyminikit clean-up protocol as per the manufacturer's protocol (QIAGENInc, CA USA).

Ripe fruit average weight (grams)—At the end of the experiment [when 50%of the fruit were ripe (red)] all fruits from plots within blocks A-Cwere collected. The total fruits were counted and weighted. The averagefruits weight was calculated by dividing the total fruit weight by thenumber of fruits.

Experimental Results

10 different Tomato varieties were grown and characterized for ripefruit average weight (grams) as described above and the measuredparameter [Ripe fruit average weight (gr.) at Normal Irrigation] ispresented in Table 28 below.

TABLE 28 Measured parameters Tomato accessions Normal Irrigation; Ripefruit average weight Variety (gr.) 612 0.05 613 0.01 617 0.01 618 0.05622 0.01 623 0.01 626 0.03 629 0.00 630 0.00 631 0.01 Table 28: Providedare the measured yield components (Ripe fruit average weight undernormal irrigation) for the tomato accessions (Varieties).

Subsequent correlation analysis between the leaf transcriptom set ofBDL83_H74 Gene (SEQ ID NO:282) and the ripe fruit average weight undernormal irrigation conditions was conducted and the correlationcoefficient (R) was found to be 0.734.

Example 11 Production of Tomato Transcriptom and High ThroughputCorrelation Analysis of Vigor Related Parameters Using 44K TomatoOligonucleotide Micro-Array

Experimental Procedures

Growth Conditions for Tomato Experiments

Correlation of early vigor traits across collection of Tomatoecotypes—Ten Tomato varieties were grown in 3 repetitive plots, eachcontaining 17 plants, at a net house under semi-hydroponics conditions.Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: Tomato seeds were sown intrays filled with a mix of vermiculite and peat in a 1:1 ratio.Following germination, the trays were transferred to normal growthsolution [full Hogland; KNO₃—0.808 grams/liter, MgSO₄—0.12 grams/liter,KH₂ PO₄—0.172 grams/liter and 0.01% (volume/volume) of ‘Super coratin’micro elements (Iron-EDDHA[ethylenediamine-N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid)]—40.5 grams/liter;Mn—20.2 grams/liter; Zn 10.1 grams/liter; Co 1.5 grams/liter; and Mo 1.1grams/liter), solution's pH should be 6.5-6.8] at a temperature of20-24° C.

RNA extraction—All 10 selected Tomato varieties were sampled. Leavesfrom plant under Normal conditions were sampled and RNA was extractedusing TRIzol Reagent from Invitrogen [Hypertext TransferProtocol://World Wide Web (dot) invitrogen (dot) com/content(dot)cfm?pageid=469].

Tomato vigor related parameters—following 5 weeks of growing, plant wereharvested and analyzed for leaf number. The analyzed data was saved totext files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software(SAS institute).

Experimental Results

10 different Tomato varieties were grown and characterized for leafnumber as described above. The average leaf number was calculated usingthe JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 29 below.

TABLE 29 Measured parameters Tomato accessions Variety Leaf number 11396.56 2078 6.89 2958 7.33 5077 6.22 5080 6.33 5084 6.44 5085 5.89 50885.56 5089 6.11 5092 5.67 Table 29. Provided are the measured vigorrelated parameter (leaf number) for the tomato accessions (Varieties).

Subsequent correlation analysis between the leaf transcriptom set ofBDL83_H73 gene (SEQ ID NO:281) with the average leaf number wasconducted, the correlation coefficient (R) was −0.794.

The genes identified herein improve plant yield in general, and morespecifically oil yield, seed yield, oil content, plant growth rate,plant biomass, root measurements, and plant vigor. The output of thebioinformatics method described herein is a set of genes highlypredicted to improve yield (seed yield, oil yield and content, biomass)and/or other agronomic important yields by modifying their expression.Although each gene is predicted to have its own impact, modifying themode of expression of more than one gene is expected to provide anadditive or synergistic effect on the plant yield, plant growth rate,root measurements, plant vigor and/or other agronomic important yieldsperformance. Altering the expression of each gene described here aloneor set of genes together increases the overall yield plant growth rate,root measurements, plant vigor and/or

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modificationsand variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scopeof the appended claims.

All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification are herein incorporated in their entirety by referenceinto the specification, to the same extent as if each individualpublication, patent or patent application was specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. Inaddition, citation or identification of any reference in thisapplication shall not be construed as an admission that such referenceis available as prior art to the present invention. To the extent thatsection headings are used, they should not be construed as necessarilylimiting.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of increasing yield, biomass, growthrate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen useefficiency of a plant, comprising over-expressing within the plant apolypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence which exhibits at least80% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 188, 202, 172, 146, 106-117,120-145, 147-171, 173-175, 177-187, 189-201, 524-616, 621-844, 926-931or 932, thereby increasing the yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oilcontent, abiotic stress tolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of theplant.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said amino acid sequence is atleast 90% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of SEQ ID NOs: 188, 202, 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171,173-175, 177-202, 524-844 and 926-932.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid amino acid sequence is at least 95% identical to the amino acidsequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 188, 202,172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-175, 177-202, 524-844 and926-932.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said amino acid sequence isselected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 188, 202, 172, 146,106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-175, 177-202, 524-844 and 926-932.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said polypeptide is encoded by apolynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from thegroup consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 921, 84, 105, 905, 882, 1-13, 15-70,72-83, 85-104, 203-523, 845-881, 883-904, 906-907, 909-920, 922-925 and933.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting said plantover-expressing said polypeptide for an increased yield, biomass, growthrate, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance or nitrogen use efficiencyas compared to a non-transformed plant which is grown under the samegrowth conditions.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said selecting isperformed under non-stress conditions.
 8. The method of claim 6, whereinsaid selecting is performed under abiotic stress conditions.
 9. Themethod of claim 6, wherein said selecting is performed under nitrogendeficient conditions.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprisinggrowing the plant over-expressing said polypeptide under the abioticstress.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said abiotic stress isselected from the group consisting of salinity, drought, waterdeprivation, flood, etiolation, low temperature, high temperature, heavymetal toxicity, anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency, nutrient excess,atmospheric pollution and UV irradiation.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the yield comprises seed yield or oil yield.
 13. A nucleic acidconstruct comprising an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleicacid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises an amino acidsequence at least 80% homologous to the amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO: 188, 202, 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-175,177-187, 189-201, 524-616, 621-844, 926-931 or 932 and a heterologouspromoter for directing transcription of said nucleic acid sequence in ahost cell, wherein said amino acid sequence is capable of increasingyield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stresstolerance and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant.
 14. The nucleicacid construct of claim 13, wherein said polypeptide comprises the aminoacid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 188,202, 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-175, 177-202, 524-844 and926-932.
 15. A plant cell transformed with the nucleic acid construct ofclaim
 13. 16. The plant cell of claim 15, wherein said plant cell formspart of a plant.
 17. A transgenic plant transformed with the nucleicacid construct of claim
 13. 18. A method of generating a transgenicplant, comprising transforming a cell of the plant with the nucleic acidconstruct of claim 13, thereby generating the transgenic plant.
 19. Amethod of producing seeds of a crop comprising: (a) selecting a parentplant being transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide encoding apolypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence which exhibits at least80% sequence identity to the polypeptide selected from the groupconsisting of SEQ ID NOs: 188, 202, 172, 146, 106-117, 120-145, 147-171,173-175, 177-187, 189-201, 524-616, 621-844, 926-931 and 932, saidparent plant exhibits an increased trait selected from the groupconsisting of: increased yield, increased biomass, increased growthrate, increased oil content, increased abiotic stress tolerance orincreased nitrogen use efficiency as compared to a non-transformed plantwhich is grown under the same growth conditions, (b) growing a seedproducing plant from said parent plant resultant of step (a), whereinsaid seed producing plant which comprises said exogenous polynucleotidehas said increased trait and (c) producing seeds from said seedproducing plant resultant of step (b), thereby producing seeds of thecrop.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein said amino acid sequenceexhibits at least 90% sequence identity to the polypeptide selected fromthe group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 188, 202, 172, 146, 106-117,120-145, 147-171, 173-175, 177-187, 189-201, 524-616, 621-844, 926-931and
 932. 21. The method of claim 19, wherein said amino acid sequenceexhibits at least 95% sequence identity to the polypeptide selected fromthe group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 188, 202, 172, 146, 106-117,120-145, 147-171, 173-175, 177-187, 189-201, 524-616, 621-844, 926-931and
 932. 22. The method of claim 19, wherein said amino acid sequence isselected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 188, 202, 172, 146,106-117, 120-145, 147-171, 173-175, 177-202, 524-844 and 926-932.